Subsea Vehicles
The capability of underwater vehicles for autonomous inspection and maintenance of subsea installations can be extended considerably with the integration of wireless technology from WFS. The addition of wireless communications capability using seatooth® and complementary hybrid solutions can remove traditional limitations of underwater vehicles and enhance safety and reliability of ROV operations in the following applications:
Communications Back Up
seatooth® provides a backup a link for a vehicle attached with an umbilical to a surface vessel using radio-acoustic technology; specifically this is used for communication with a vehicle where the umbilical link has been broken.
Real Time Data Harvest
seatooth® uses the latest in radio frequency (RF) technology to enable data rate transmission over a short range. This makes RF ideal for applications requiring high speed data transfer such as data harvesting from subsea sensors on pipelines, assets, control systems and during construction.
Location & Tracking
seatooth® can be used for location and tracking of subsea vehicles in extreme conditions (including under ice) to enable delivery of high quality data from the underwater environment without the risk of loss of vehicle. A seatooth® system will enable a surface vessel, a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to communicate with and locate an AUV under the water (or ice) at up to 1km range.
Docking & Wireless Power Transfer
seatooth® can aid AUV docking to a vessel or recharging unit, guiding the vehicle and avoiding wet-mating of connectors at depth. AUVs can then be deployed for longer periods by having the capability to recharge their batteries without physical interaction, download data and update software. seatooth®'s power transfer capability also enables deployment of "sealed for life units" on the seabed.
For more information, download our WIRELESS CONNECTIONS datasheet or contact us at info@wfs-tech.com