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As announced in early 2018, ECA Group signed a cooperation agreement for subsea robotics services to Oil & Gas companies with a leasing offer of its latest generation A18D AUV creating a new dimension for its AUV Services activity.
Throughout 2018 ECA Group conducted with success several deep survey missions. This new generation AUV demonstrated its capabilities to perform multi sensors surveys during deep operations (around 2,500 m below to the sea) in the Mediterranean Sea.
A comprehensive Survey Solution: high performance & ease-of-use for A18D
High quality data for high precision cartography
The A18D is the most compact multi sensor AUV on the market for long endurance deep water survey (up to 3,000m). This long endurance AUV performs up to 40 km2 of high resolution imagery per mission.
Thanks to its unique 3D navigation accuracy, outstanding data (MBES, SAS, SBP) were gathered in a single survey at a depth over 2,500m, with a perfect bottom altitude tracking at 25m. In the same survey multi sensor are used to obtain the best information.
MBES is used for the bathymetry and Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) for high resolution imagery.
With its highly accurate inertial navigation the A18D provides centimetric XY resolutions of the bathymetry data. Unlike deep sea surveys with a boat, the measurement is much more accurate and less sensitive to the effect of sound velocity profile (eg no effect of surface thermocline).
With a SAS, the resolution is constant at 3cm*3cm ... no decimetric object can be missed.
Environmental data (in particular Sound velocity) are acquired throughout the mission (descent/survey/reassembly) in order to be taken into account during the Post Mission Analysis with the best accuracy.
Thanks to internal synchronization features, all sensors are working together providing localized bathymetry and imagery data of the same objects.
Easy to Use, Launch & Recover
Human safety and material integrity can be exposed during recovery phases, thus, they are critical.
ECA GROUP developed a dedicated LARS – Launch and Recovery System – for its AUV A18D. This simple and robust system enables the operator to operate the AUV safely and easily, even in harsh conditions.
A18D, a stand-alone AUV for deep survey using simple LARS solution compatible with different lifting systems
A18D – Simple and safe LARS solution
The A18D can be also recovered very simply even when it is switched off thanks to an internal emergency rope, offering to the operators several contingency plan, reducing risks.
Without moving parts or hydraulics, the LARS of the A18D is particularly reliable and easy to maintain or repair and requires no complex preventive maintenance.
A complete system from the toolbox to the final report
A complete system from the toolbox to the final report
Superseding offshore survey requirements
The A18D is a multi-operation AUV able to perform missions for scientific and offshore market. This AUV is the perfect platform to perform specific missions such as :
- High resolution imagery and bathymetry
- Sub bottom profiling
- High resolution pipeline inspection
- Leakage detection (Methane)
- Acoustic detection and localization (FDR/VDR..)
- A GAPS, a portable USBL system working as a cost-effective stand alone solution to be deployed from any ship of opportunity
