Plymouth, UK — ACUA Ocean and Forssea Robotics have completed a three-week integration and testing campaign off Plymouth, demonstrating a fully remote subsea inspection system combining an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV).
The trials were conducted under a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) and combined ACUA Ocean’s Pioneer USV with Forssea Robotics’ 170-kg ARGOS ROV.
More Than 40 Remote Deployments
The campaign included six days of operations at sea, during which the partners completed more than 40 launch, dive and recovery cycles. All operations were controlled remotely from shore, with the system completing eight launch-and-recovery cycles in a single day.
ARGOS operated at depths exceeding 20 metres, with up to 35 metres of tether deployed.
Testing in Different Sea Conditions
The system was tested in waves of around one metre, with average winds of 18 knots and gusts of 20 to 30 knots. Additional trials south of the Plymouth breakwater were conducted in waves of up to two metres.
The companies reported that the conditions did not affect the ROV's operations.
Pioneer provided subsea positioning support through a Sonardyne Mini-Ranger 2 ultra-short baseline (USBL) system, which tracked a WSM6+ transponder fitted to ARGOS. Pioneer used both manual control and dynamic-positioning station-keeping to maintain the required position for the ROV.
Remote Control From the UK and France
The integrated system was controlled from ACUA Ocean’s Remote Operations Centre at Turnchapel Wharf in Plymouth. Forssea Robotics personnel simultaneously supervised the operations from the company’s headquarters in Sète, France.
Subsea Inspection Tasks
The trials included inspection of the Poulmic wreck, a seabed feature and a concrete target block in Cawsand Bay. ARGOS successfully located and filmed the targets.
The campaign focused on inspection activities, and no underwater repair or other light-intervention work was completed during the trials.
The Poulmic was a former French vessel that was sunk by a mine in 1940 near Plymouth. Its remains are scattered across the seabed and form a known local dive site.
Commercial Applications
ARGOS is a compact, fully web-controllable ROV equipped with a plug-and-play integration kit for USV operations. It is designed for inspection, survey and light-intervention applications.
Following the successful trials, ACUA Ocean and Forssea Robotics said the integrated system is now available for commercial marine campaigns, including offshore inspection, repair and maintenance, survey work and subsea infrastructure monitoring.
ACUA Ocean CEO Neil Tinmouth said the system can provide a wider weather window for inspection campaigns while reducing the need for support vessels and offshore personnel.
Forssea Robotics CEO Gautier Dreyfus praised Pioneer’s sea-state capabilities and the successful ROV integration and repeated launch-and-recovery operations.
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