My colleague Robert Venema and I recently visited Oceanology International in London.
It is a trade fair within oceanology. Simply put, that means various kinds of measurement on, above and below the water. It can involve buoys that collect various kinds of weather data sent by satellite link, autonomous craft that carry out hydrographic surveys, and robots steered autonomously or by a pilot.
I reflected on how very large the focus was on autonomous hydrographic surveying in particular. For example smaller self-propelled boats with a mass of measuring equipment mounted on board. Or self-propelled, torpedo-like craft, so-called AUVs, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, that can collect seabed data according to a pre-programmed running schedule.
Robert Venema and I at Saab’s stand.
We also found a few exhibitors supplying sampling equipment in the form of physical water and seabed samplers. That is somewhat more in line with what we ourselves need to invest in.
It was also gratifying that there were some Swedish exhibitors, even though we have no offshore industry in Sweden today. We ran into Ocean Modules Sweden from Atvidaberg, which makes both underwater robots and drones of the large kind.
Ocean Modules’ stand with its large drone, the grey one, and an ordinary ROV, the yellow one.
Another example was Lidan Marine from Lidkoping. The company manufactures winch systems for the offshore industry.
Saab was also on site and showed its large all-electric WROV (Work Class ROV), and CLINTON, which offers hydrographic survey services and has already surveyed an area for us.
It does not have to be big kit only. This ROV is no larger than a laptop.
Now we have to wait two years until the fair is held next. Technical development moves fast, so it will be exciting to see what gets invented by 2026.
