Automating ROV Operations in aid of

the Oil & Gas Offshore Industry

Ioseba Tena
SeeByte Whitepaper
August 2011
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

Context
The Remotely Operated Vehicle has been instrumental in the development of subsea fields.
So much so that when new subsea infrastructure is designed an important requirement is to
allow seamless ROV operations. From drilling (where the ROV is used to monitor the BOP
and riser), through construction support (surveys, touch-down monitoring, interfacing), IRM
(inspection, tooling, etc) and even in the decommissioning phase the ROV is the easiest and
safest way to interact with the subsea environment enabling truly amazing feats of
engineering and ingenuity.
From their initial development to their current form, ROVs have seen many changes and
improvements. They have become more capable, going deeper and tackling a greater
variety of tasks. There is also today a greater range of ROVs from small one man portable
systems to large sophisticated work-class systems operating at 1000s of feet from dedicated
offshore vessels.
These improvements have created a need for expert operators with intense training. Their
skills are required as much to pilot the systems as they are to service and maintain them.
But ultimately the bottom line is tied to how efficiently and expertly an operator can fly the
ROV.
SeeByte has a long history of providing solutions to the ROV industry. Standard solutions
like SeeTrack CoPilot can have a positive and direct impact in the operation of the ROV,
bespoke solutions help deal with some specific needs.
These solutions have been designed to help deliver on the bottom line by helping improve
ROV operations.
This paper outlines SeeByte’s available autonomy solutions for inspections in both open
water and constrained environments.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

Construction Support
Offshore construction commands expensive vessels and highly trained crews, who are relied
on to carry out real feats of engineering on each and every job. In construction the ROV
units are often an important part of the operation itself and are required to move objects into
position and observe the construction process. The costs involved are huge and, as
construction jobs are normally contracted out on a lump sum, any delays caused by the ROV
can have a significant impact on the bottom line.
Last generation ROVs can help make the process easier, equipped with station keeping
functionality they can be used to hold station in a required position, but an ROV equipped
with SeeTrack CoPilot can be made to keep station relative to a target of interest. Thus,
when tracking and observing structures the ROV can be made to maintain its position
relative to that structure. The functionality that allows moving the system to desired
coordinates and to track structures at the touch of a button can be relied upon to speed up
ROV operations. These savings in time ultimately impact the bottom line.

Experiments showed that an ROV equipped with SeeTrack CoPilot was

capable of carrying out transit operations (moving from one location to another
in the field) in less than half the time than was possible using conventional
means. This was possible thanks to the intuitive a simple to use interface.

The bottom line: SeeTrack CoPilot has been shown to speed up ROV operations
offshore, in some instances these operations can be halved in time. Savings through
time efficiencies will directly impact the bottom line.

How will Construction Support operations improve in the future?

It is about integrating the ROV to the construction process. As the blueprints are developed
and the work is planned the ROV plan should take form and the ROV should be able to
automatically process that plan – eliminating any potential for human error. The ROV can
automatically move to position (the pilot can supervise the process and change the plan if
required) – integrating to the 3D simulation and updating the user as to where in the plan it
is.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

ROV Surveys
Offshore subsea is one the most challenging environments to survey. Accurate positioning
and high resolution surveys require a significant investment in technology and training as
well as intricate operations. The ROV surveyor’s standard tools today include acoustic
positioning, be it USBL or LBL arrays, expensive INS equipped with state-of-the-art Fibre-
optic or ring-laser gyros, precise depth sensors and Doppler. The ROV is also typically
operated from a DP vessel so that it can follow it as it performs its mission. As well as
navigation sensors the ROV is equipped with some of the most advanced payload sensors
in the market. Video, multibeam and side-scan sonars are used to map the seabed.
The data from the navigation sensors can be used to position and geo-reference the payload
data and accurate maps can be made in this way. The investment in accuracy is
considerable, but desirable in order to expedite subsequent operations. Typically to date the
survey has relied on expert piloting skills to maintain the ROV on a set course at a pre-
determined speed, heading and height from the seabed. Often times the investment can be
compromised if the ROV cannot be made to steer the course. SeeTrack CoPilot allows the
ROV to maintain a pre-laid course and offer a stable platform from which to gather data.
Stability is of paramount importance, SeeTrack CoPilot provides it and as a result the quality
of the data gathered using SeeTrack CoPilot is of superior quality.

Experiments showed that an ROV equipped with SeeTrack CoPilot maintain

excellent heading and position control even when in transit. The performance
of the ROV far surpassed the performance of an ROV pilot (up to 10 times
better).

The bottom line: An ROV equipped with SeeTrack CoPilot will be able to run smoothly
through a pre-laid survey grid. As well as time savings the data will be gathered from
a stable platform and thus it will maintain an even distribution over the survey area.
SeeTrack CoPilot superior data products will require less post-processing.

How will Surveys be improved in the future?

SeeTrack CoPilot will enable the ROV to run the same survey line one year to the next. This
will allow easier comparison of data sets. This feature alone will be instrumental in improving
the analysis of data gathered to study the effects of scouring, mining or construction.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

Inspection, Repair and Maintenance

A successful inspection must gather the right information. An ROV crew must manoeuvre
the ROV around the facilities being inspected and the data must be of sufficient quality to
extract that information. It is also important that the whole structure is observed and no
sections of the structure are missed out.
Using an ROV system equipped with no station keeping capabilities can present a significant
challenge when it comes to gathering the data. Maintaining a stable position and heading is
vital for these operations and doing so throughout the inspection job adds to the stress of the
ROV pilot. Latest generation ROV systems equipped with station keeping can simplify the
process of observing stationary targets for prolonged periods of time, but the value of this
feature is limited to a small part of the IRM job. SeeTrack CoPilot allows pre-planning an
inspection route. The ROV will run this route time and time again, each time it will provide a
stable platform for the sensors. The data outputs will be repeatable and easily compared to
those of previous jobs. Thus SeeTrack CoPilot is not limited to stationary targets. The ability
to track targets and servo relative to them means that SeeTrack CoPilot can be used to run
effective IRM from seabed to surface, including risers and anchor chains.

Results show that SeeTrack CoPilot could be relied to take still picture of riser
buoyancy modules at least as much as five times faster than conventional
means. Each of the pictures was right first time, every time.

The bottom line: An ROV equipped with SeeTrack CoPilot will help to ensure that
there are no gaps in the data, the contractor will be able to carry out the whole
inspection (including the risers) using a single tool. It is not uncommon for
contractors to have to carry out a snag list of unfinished jobs at the end of Inspection
job these can often represent up to 5% of the total job time. With SeeTrack CoPilot
these snag lists have been shown to be significantly reduced leading to savings.

How will IRM improve?

The future will see the introduction of automated ROV and Autonomous Inspection Vehicles.
These systems will be autonomously coordinated using smart software solutions. The
systems will be used to inspect and detect features automatically and in real time. As
features are observed the ROVs will use SeeTrack CoPilot to automatically position
themselves in the right place to carry out maintenance and/or repairs.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

Improved User Interfaces for Improved Operations

SeeTrack CoPilot’s intuitive interface can be used to manoeuvre the ROV around a field at
the touch of bottom. Flying an ROV using SeeTrack CoPilot is so easy that novice pilots
think it’s meant to be easy. It enables all users to get the best out of the ROV, no matter their
experience. This is not to say that experience doesn’t matter. Experience for ROV pilots
counts for a lot. It is not just about the piloting, it’s about doing a job and doing it right.
Experienced pilots are not only capable of flying the ROV they also know what it takes to
finish the job. Novice pilots on the other hand spend much of their energy and focus in the
action of piloting. As the energy is spent on flying the ROV smoothly other important tasks
can be forgotten and this can often lead to unwanted situations.
Due to the pressures of the job and the requirement to perform when the mission is in
process the piloting is often left to the most experienced pilot. Thus experience is hard to
come by if you are a novice pilot. Last generation ROVs offer station keeping and help the
pilots deal with some of the stress. The ROV pilot can choose to put the ROV into hover and
use that time to gather his bearings. As a result some unwanted situations are avoided, but
while this is happening the ROV must remain static and valuable time is lost.
With SeeTrack CoPilot the ROV pilots can easily tailor missions, interact effectively with their
environment and get the best data and the required information. This means more time can
be spent on the actual job instead of the action of piloting itself, confidence on the job also
helps to keep stress down and will mean that inexperienced ROV crews can achieve more,
faster.
The bottom line: Get the best out of the ROV, no matter the experience of your crew!

Where is the technology heading?

Computer games provide a glimpse at the realm of the possible. Gods-eye, first and third
person views and synthetic environments updated in real-time through intuitive interfaces for
a new generation of ROV pilots. Also as the tasks are pre-programmed the pilot takes a less
hand-on approach like the pilot in a commercial passenger jet much of the flight-path is pre-
planned and automatically adjusted. The pilot will be required to supervise the process but
not take over.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

What does Automating ROV Operations mean?

It’s about introducing modes of operation where the pilot can take a supervisory role by
instructing the ROV to perform actions without having to manually move the joystick and
compensate for each little thing that the environment throws at him. SeeByte’s SeeTrack
CoPilot offers the widest range of useful operation modes and it can be retrofitted into
existing and new ROVs. No other system comes close.

Station- Cruise-control Survey-Control MBI Sonar Mid-Water DP

Keeping track
SeeTrack CoPilot ● ● ● ● ●

Mode Description Offshore Uses Sensors Optional

Required Sensors
Station- Use of motion sensors and Minimum specification. Doppler Velocity LBL / USBL
keeping heading reference systems Inspection and Log, AHRS, acoustic
to keep ROV stationary Intervention. Depth. positioning
without direct pilot control. systems for
absolute
positioning
reference
Cruise- Use of motion sensors and Pipeline and cable Doppler Velocity MBI (This
control heading reference systems inspections. Ensures Log, AHRS, makes
to keep ROV on constant stability of platform for Depth. pipeline
velocity vector without survey sensors (eg tracking
direct pilot control. MBES, SBP, SSS). simple and
accurate)
Survey- Use of motion sensors and Route and pre-lay Doppler Velocity
control heading reference systems surveys. Ensures stability Log, AHRS,
to make ROV follow a of platform for survey Depth, Acoustic
predetermined set of sensors (eg MBES, SBP, Beacons.
waypoints without direct SSS).
pilot control. The navigation
system should display the
trajectory of the ROV over
the survey plan. Plans can
be changed on site.
MBI Sonar- Use of motion sensors, Touch –down monitoring, Doppler Velocity LBL acoustic
track heading reference systems Inspection (Risers, Log, AHRS, positioning /
and Multibeam Imaging Chains, Flow Lines, Depth, MBI INS (Inertial
sonar to manoeuvre the manifolds, wells, ...), Sonar. Navigation
ROV relative to the ground Intervention (Repair, System) to
or a structure. The Maintenance) and provide
navigation system should Decommissioning. This absolute
show the ROV trajectory mode can provide DP in reference for
and the MBI sonar data. the mid-water relative to a multi beam
target. imaging data
Mid-water Use of motion sensors and When work is distributed INS, AHRS,
heading reference systems along a large field. This Depth, LBL /
to fulfil any of the Dynamic mode is useful as a USBL acoustic
Positioning modes at transit mode to save time positioning.
heights where there is no by not having to take
Doppler Lock. ROV system all the way
to surface.

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

What do I need to make SeeTrack CoPilot work?

SeeTrack CoPilot is a very sophisticated software system using the latest advances in signal
and image processing theory. To do it justice the ROV must also be equipped with
sophisticated sensors. The sensors typically employed are:
 Teledyne RDI Workhorse Navigator Doppler Velocity Log
 Depth and North-Seeking Heading Gyros (information supplied at >= 3 Hz)
 Forward-look Sonar such as the BlueView P-Series sonars can be used to
automatically follow or inspect objects
 INS and USBL systems can also be used if mid-water DP is required

SeeTrack CoPilot also required access to the ROV’s thrusters’ control systems (analogue
joystick port or digital command stream) with updates at 5Hz minimum.
SeeTrack CoPilot performs the following advanced functions:
 Navigation Computer: SeeTrack CoPilot is equipped with a sophisticated navigation
computer that fuses the outputs from all the navigation sensors. The information is
used to accurately manoeuvre the ROV in both relative and world coordinates. It is
also stored as a time stamped list of positions and attitudes that can be used to
reconstruct the trajectory of the ROV and as a survey string.
 Autonomous Guidance: SeeTrack Copilot used the navigation information to send
automatic commands to the ROV and provide the user with a huge variety of fly-
modes suitable for varied applications.
 Target Relative Control: SeeTrack CoPilot processes the sonar data and identifies
targets that the pilot can select to have the ROV follow or inspect them automatically.

SeeTrack CoPilot can be retro-fitted into existing ROVs and equipped in new ROVs. The
team will require access to the ROV and the ROV must be operated in the water in order for
the software to learn the ROV’s behaviour.

If in doubt about any of the functionality the interested reader may contact the SeeByte team
at [email protected]

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681
Automating ROV Operations in aid of the
Oil and Gas Offshore Industry

Detailed Sensor Specification

SENSOR DESCRIPTION SPECIFICATION Notes

Doppler Velocity Use acoustics to provide Ping Rate: >= 5 Hz
Log velocity vector Min Altitude: <= 2 m
measurements Max Altitude: >= 30 m
Velocity Res: <= 0.1cm/s
Long Term Accuracy: <= ±
0.6% ± 0.2cm/s
AHRS Non-magnetic North Updates: >= 3Hz Magnetic Compasses are
Seeking Gyro with pitch and Heading Accuracy: 0.5 deg affected by ferrous
roll measurements. sec (lat) materials and should not
Pitch & Roll Accuracy: 0.1 be relied on.
deg
Depth Pressure sensors used to Updates: >=3 Hz The accuracy of the sensor
measure the depth of the Typical accuracy: 0.01% will determine the
ROV. FSR (full scale range) performance
MBI Sonar Multi-beam Imaging Sonar. Ping Rate: >= 5 Hz Mechanical scanner
High frame rate streaming Field of View: 130 deg update rate/FOV too
imagery required to Number of Beams: 700+ limiting for reliable target
implement robust, reliable Size: <180 cuin tracking and controls.
controls in dynamic Low level software
environment. Sonar must development kit access and
have analytics interface to tight integration with
track structures. analytics
Acoustic Provide position updates The DP system does not
Transponders through Ultra Short Baseline require Acoustic
(USBL) or Long Baseline Transponders to provide
(LBL) positioning method. station-keeping. These
Both can be configured to need only be used where
provide an absolute an absolute position
position. measurement is required.
INS Inertial Measurement Unit Update Rate: >= 5Hz The INS must be aided by
and navigation computer Acoustic Transponders or
that provides Inertial the navigation solution will
Navigation solution with drift exponentially. DVL
velocity vector and position aiding will restrict the drift
measurements by to only a linear decay in
integrating information from accuracy. Absolute
accelerometers, gyros and positioning sensors (eg
aiding sensors. LBL / USBL systems) will
correct all drift
components.

Note:
The sensor specifications are required to meet the needs of the automation routines. Other sensors and
navigation solutions might be required to fulfil the actual job (for instance a survey will typically require an INS for
positioning – though the survey mode does not require the same level of accuracy to provide accurate and
smooth survey lines).

SeeByte Ltd
Registered in Scotland Number: SC194014
Registered Office: Orchard Brae House, Edinburgh, EH4 2HS
VAT Registration Number: 783656681