BG Group is investing in a new underwater vehicles R&D project. Codenamed ‘FlatFish’, the project is being undertaken by BG Brasil and the Brazilian Institute of Robotics (BIR).
This next generation of underwater vehicles will operate without human intervention, other than defining the inspection mission and initiating the launch.
The FlatFish’s objective is to reduce operating costs and mitigate production losses and the risks attached to ROV vessel operations, as well as become a useful emergency response tool for offshore operations.
“FlatFish will be a lightweight, low cost vehicle able to carry out subsea inspections completely autonomously. It will reside subsea and be capable of undocking from a submerged docking station, carrying out an inspection mission and returning to base, all without human intervention,” explains John Costin , Surface Technology Manager.
The FlatFish project is the first initiative under a long-term collaboration between BG Group and BIR, funded through the Brazilian Government R&D levy, and special funding from Embrapli, a Brazilian company funding research and industrial innovation.
Subsea World News Staff