Beam, formed from the merger of Rovco and Vaarst, has announced the deployment of the world's first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) powered by artificial intelligence (AI). This technology has already been successfully utilized to inspect jacket structures at the Seagreen offshore wind farm in Scotland, a joint venture between SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies, and PTTEP.
The company claims that this innovative technology has the potential to revolutionize marine technology and underwater robotics. By employing advanced AI, the AUV can conduct complex underwater tasks without human intervention, significantly enhancing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of underwater inspections and surveys.
Shifting away from traditional remote operations and enabling real-time data streaming to shore will allow offshore workers to focus on more intricate aspects of their roles. According to Beam, this AI-driven approach can reduce inspection timelines by up to 50%, thereby lowering operational costs. The technology also promises to improve the quality of inspection data and facilitates 3D reconstruction of assets alongside visual data.
Beam plans to roll out this technology across its fleet of DP2 vessels, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and AUVs throughout 2025 and 2026.
Brian Allen, Beam's chief executive, expressed pride in achieving this milestone. He stated, “We are very proud to have succeeded in deploying the world's first autonomous underwater vehicle driven by AI. Automation can revolutionize how we carry out inspection and maintenance of offshore wind farms, helping to reduce both costs and timelines.” He emphasized the importance of successful initial projects for realizing the technology's full potential and acknowledged the role of customers like SSE Renewables in supporting this journey.
Since becoming operational in October 2023, the Seagreen wind farm has provided valuable insights for the application of autonomous technology in offshore wind structures. The data collected by Beam will contribute to maintaining operational reliability at the wind farm, offering insights into marine growth and potential erosion at the foundations.
Matthew Henderson, technical asset manager for substructure and asset lifecycle at SSE Renewables, highlighted the safety benefits of this technology. He stated, “Beam's technology demonstrates that autonomous inspections can reduce the personnel we need to send offshore for planned inspections, while speeding up planned works and collecting rich data sets to inform asset integrity planning.” He added that as operations move into deeper waters, the ability to gather high-quality inspection data in a low-risk manner is essential for advancing their Net Zero Acceleration Programme.
