Deep technology company Beam has launched the world’s first AI-powered autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), revolutionizing underwater inspections by improving efficiency and reducing costs in sectors like offshore wind energy. The AUV operates autonomously to perform complex underwater inspections, enhancing the speed and accuracy of offshore surveys.
Beam’s innovative AUV has already been successfully deployed at the Seagreen wind farm, Scotland’s largest offshore site, a joint venture between SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies, and PTTEP. Brian Allen, CEO of Beam, said, “Automation can revolutionize how we carry out inspection and maintenance of offshore wind farms, helping to reduce both costs and timelines.”
Beam, formed from the merger of UK-based companies Rovco and Vaarst, is focused on advancing offshore wind economics by integrating robotic automation into wind farm services.
Traditional inspections of offshore wind sites are labor-intensive and rely on manual procedures. Beam’s AI-powered AUV offers a fully autonomous solution, transmitting data back to shore instantly, significantly reducing inspection time by up to 50%. This allows offshore workers to focus on more complex tasks and lowers operational costs.
In addition to enhancing productivity, the AUV delivers higher-quality inspection data, including 3D reconstructions of offshore assets alongside visual data. At Seagreen Wind Farm, the deepest fixed-bottom offshore wind farm in the world, Beam’s technology provided critical insights into the condition of wind farm structures, such as possible erosion and marine expansion.
According to Matthew Henderson, technical asset manager at SSE Renewables, “Beam’s technology demonstrates that autonomous inspections can reduce the personnel we need to send offshore while speeding up planned works and collecting rich data sets to inform asset integrity planning.”
Beam specializes in data-driven autonomous solutions for remote and uncrewed survey and inspection operations. These systems enable vessels to perform more autonomous tasks while quickly gathering comprehensive datasets. Beam’s technology optimizes data capture and synchronization, minimizing delays between data acquisition and analysis.
With automated sensor configuration and vessel path planning, Beam’s AUV ensures reliable data collection, reducing inconsistencies and the need for costly data refills. Its advanced machine learning algorithms provide accurate insights, enabling rapid detection of events in complex environments.
The precision of Beam’s subsea autonomy solutions enhances control during inspections, ensuring high-quality data capture while improving safety. By automating tasks close to offshore structures, the system eliminates the risks associated with human fatigue, ensuring consistent performance in challenging conditions.
Beam’s AI-powered AUV is set to reshape the future of offshore wind inspections, providing faster, safer, and more reliable solutions for the growing renewable energy industry.
By Impact Lab
