Page 640 - The ROV Manual - A User Guide for Remotely Operated Vehicles 2nd edition

The Future of ROV Technology
CHAPTER CONTENTS
23
23.1 Standard ROVs............................................................................................................................643
23.2 Fiber-optic linked ROVs...............................................................................................................646
23.3 Autonomous ROVs .......................................................................................................................648
23.3.1 Structurally compliant vehicles.............................................................................. 648
23.3.2 AUVs................................................................................................................... 649 23.3.3 Hybrids ............................................................................................................... 655
23.4 The crystal ball...........................................................................................................................658
23.5 The bottom line...........................................................................................................................661
As discussed in Chapter 3, there are varying degrees of power and autonomy for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), ranging from the basic tethered vehicle using remotely provided power and with teleoperated control coming from the surface, through onboard battery-powered vehicles with tele- operation via a fiber-optic control link and eventually to fully autonomous logic-driven vehicles with onboard power. The future of ROV technology fits into the evolution of the entire subsea con- trol system—the main commercial application of which is the future deepwater oilfield. The oilfield-specific focus of this chapter is also applicable to any deepwater area control system.
However, before we look into our crystal ball to project the technology needs and probable vehicle developments of future deepwater oilfields, the stage should be set by taking a topside per- spective of today’s needs and options.
The future oilfield requires remote sensing, valve activation, chemical treatment, and all of the other aspects of in-field harvesting and separating of hydrocarbons for further transport to process facilities ashore. Currently, these tasks are performed with man-in-the-loop technology. The future is clearly further autonomy. The evolution will follow an ever-increasing removal of man/woman from the loop replacing him/her with logic circuits. The questions facing this development fold into three basic categories:
1. Nodes of the control system operated via “man-in-the-loop” or via logic-driven control
2. Control operations and inspections via internal activation/diagnostics, structurally compliant
vehicle activation/inspection or free-traveling vehicle activation/inspection 3. Onboard or remote vehicle power
The ROV Manual.
© 2014 Robert D Christ and Robert L Wernli. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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