https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPxtEVqbAAo&ab_channel=ArmachRobotics
Armach achieved a milestone during a demonstration of the in-water hull service robot (HSR). Armach’s hull service robot, in the water in Norfolk, VA, was monitored and controlled by staff at Armach’s command center in Plymouth, MA, using a 4G modem providing over-the-air connectivity.
Once the comms connection was made between Norfolk and Plymouth, the vehicle was able to complete its pre-dive checks on the pier. This involved full system checks with commands being sent from Armach’s home office, nearly 600 miles away.
During this trial, it was also demonstrated how the HSR can recognize objects in its planned path of transit, autonomously navigate around these, and return to its originally planned path of operation, also referred to as an obstacle detection and avoidance manoeuvre.
Key to Armach’s proposition is that the system provided a previously unprecedented level of ‘Hull Intelligence’, effectively creating a hull condition survey every time it cleans a hull.
This allows to understand their hull condition in ‘real time’ and make decisions that will save time and money.
Flying the vehicle from Plymouth and landing on the BB64 was a euphoric experience, as we reached one more milestone on our technology roadmap
John Dunn, VP Operations at Armach and pilot for this first OTH flight, said.
