Robotic Technologies News

Just hours after announcing three contracts for its platform suppliers in the North Sea and Suriname, Norwegian offshore vessel operator Solstad Offshore released a separate statement on Thursday, announcing charters for three construction vessels.These charters are with an unnamed "large international contractor" and are for the construction support vessels Normand Navigator, Normand Frontier, and Normand Australis.The three vessels will be used for projects on the east coast of India.

Inspecting fuel and ballast tanks. Sand-blasting old paint coatings and applying new ones. Removing corrosion on ships, submarines, aircraft and other vehicles.These are some of the unpleasant jobs in naval shipyards and maintenance facilities that could be made safer by pairing human workers with robots. Experts say this could improve the speed and efficiency with which the U.S. Navy sustains its assets—and expand the career paths of current workers (and create new jobs) by teaching them to operate…

The navy shipyard, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF) and Sarcos Robotics will jointly develop robotic technologies, including full-body powered exoskeletons, for use in naval shipyards, the two entities jointly announced.Sarcos Robotics, a player in robotic systems that augment rather than replace humans working in the industrial, public safety and military sectors, said in a press note that they would will evaluate Sarcos’ Guardian XO battery-powered full-body exoskeleton as well as its Guardian S inspection robot for use across a wide variety of unstructured, challenging work environments and tasks.Areas of initial focus will be manipulation of heavy items…

Drones increasingly take on the dirty, dangerous jobs in maritime. For insight, we spoke with David Knukkel, Founder & CEO, RIMS BVFor our readers not aware, please discuss the size and scope of RIMS BV.RIMS is  a global service provider to help revolutionize maintenance strategies with smart drones and robotic inspections. We offer expertise, as well as the market inspection of enclosed spaces with your drone, (and we have) a lot of experience with inspection of different assets (such as ships…

Japan's Tsuneishi Holdings Corporation said that its  shipbuilding business output was nearly flat with the construction of 45 ships in the fiscal year ending December 2016. However, ship orders declined markedly due to the impact of last-minute orders before environmental regulations went into effect in 2015. "Our shipping business, affected by the dry bulk market downturn, recorded sales of 26.9 billion yen, a YOY decline of 5.7 billion yen (-17%)," says a company statement. "In response to falling ship prices and ocean freight affected by excess shipping tonnage worldwide, we will promote a strategic product mix and build a structure to accommodate diverse needs.

Cammell Laird has selected a Rolls-Royce design for the U.K.’s future polar research ship, which, when built, will be one of the most advanced scientific maritime vessels ever constructed. Rolls-Royce will also supply machinery and equipment for the vessel in a deal worth $43.6 million. The 128 meter long ship, which will be named RRS Sir David Attenborough, will be built at the modular construction hall at Cammell Laird’s site in Birkenhead on Merseyside. Cammell Laird, which offers a range of marine and heavy engineering services including shipbuilding…

The deal has been finalized for marine and engineering services company Cammell Laird to begin work on the U.K.’s new £200 million polar research ship. The Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird said it saw off competition from Europe and beyond including Korea and Singapore to be selected as the preferred bidder to build the new vessel for the government-funded Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Bosses met Friday, November 19 to sign the contract, and detailed design work gets underway immediately.

The U.K. Government announced Monday that Cammell Laird in Birkenhead has been selected as the preferred bidder to build the nation’s new £200 million polar research ship. The decision follows a 12-month competitive tender process that involved bids from companies in the U.K., Spain, Norway, Singapore and South Korea. The winning project will secure jobs and apprenticeships and provide an economic boost to Merseyside, the shipbuilder noted. The shipyard is expected to cut steel in autumn 2016 and deliver the next generation polar research vessel ready for operation by 2019.

Fugro announced it is launching an important upgrade to its Electric ROV pilot training simulators. Most observation-class ROVs and many light work-class ROVs are electrical-based systems. With the introduction of a new electric ROV control pod and suite of electric ROV specific components, Fugro’s DeepWorks simulation software now models all electric sub-systems with greater accuracy and enables failure cases to be simulated on individual sensors and circuits. This enables not just a wider range of training scenarios to be conceived…

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) has selected four major research and development projects for award, as part of the program's continuing mission to reduce costs associated with U. S. shipbuilding and ship repair. Objective: Expanding upon the successfully completed Remote Climbing Robot and the current Mobile Robotic Manufacturing System, the objective of this project is to develop and demonstrate a High Mobility Manufacturing Robot capable of operating in ship compartments. Provide Design for Maintenance Training to U.S. Bollinger Shipyards |  Electric Boat | BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards | Marinette Marine | Hepinstall Consulting Group | Victoria Dlugokecki, P.E..

Heeding the call to join “An Ocean in Common,” authors flooded the Oceans ‘13 MTS/IEEE San Diego technical program committee with a record number of abstracts in a single day. Special topics include an Ultra-deep track discussing current and prospective robotic technologies, plus a panel of scientists to consider research questions. Oceans2013 Chair Bob Wernli, and Co-Chair Kevin Hardy, developer of the unmanned landers for James Cameron’s DeepSea Challenge Expedition, will be the session conveners. “James’ intention is to be certain the door remains open to other explorers,” Hardy said.

Fugro has developed a new version of its DeepWorks ROV simulator for the Saab Seaeye family of electric ROVs. The new version supports console integration of the Seaeye Tiger, Lynx, Cougar XT and Panther XT/XT Plus models. To cater for the training needs of a mixed fleet of ROVs, Fugro Operating Companies in UK, Singapore, UAE, Brazil, and Australia will be the first to benefit as an enhanced set of training configurations is rolled out across the company. DeepWorks now allows rapid building and evaluation of new electrical ROV configurations…

3D sea current modelling is an important step forward in extending the boundaries of safety and efficiency in subsea operations. Fugro Subsea Services Limited is a manufacturer and operator of ROVs and provider of subsea engineering, construction support and inspection, maintenance and repair services. Its Robotic Technologies business line has announced the introduction of three-dimensional sea current profiles to its DeepWorks family of subsea simulators. Users can now model currents as they vary with depth and location…

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) has awarded funding for five new research and development projects to continue the program’s mission to reduce the costs associated with U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair. These new projects, valued at approximately $17.1 million in both Navy funding and industry cost share, were among those proposed in response to a May 2011 Research Announcement. The NSRP collaboration periodically funds R&D projects…

The Executive Control Board of the National Shipbuilding Research Program (NSRP) has awarded funding for eight new research projects as part of the Navy/Industry co-funded portfolio focusing on cost reduction in the U.S. shipbuilding and ship repair industry. These new projects, valued at approximately $16m including industry cost share, were among those proposed in response to an October 2009 Research Announcement. Fueled by Navy funding that is matched by cost share provided by industry teams, the NSRP collaboration periodically funds major R&D projects through which new technologies and innovative processes can be developed and implemented as a means of reducing shipbuilding and repair costs for the Navy and the industry at large.

By Peter J. The Office of Naval Research (ONR) contributed a video for the Ocean News kiosk at the new Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Sant Ocean Hall exhibit, scheduled to open to the public Sept. 27. The Sant Ocean Hall will feature a variety of high-definition video experiences, one-of-a kind displays, numerous interactive exhibits, and nearly 700 marine specimens and models. The video draws attention to ONR's leadership as a preeminent science and technology organization and demonstrates a vital application of its revolutionary research. The scientific work highlighted in the video takes place in the waters located off Martha's Vineyard and centers on ONR's investigative work through the use of robotic technologies.