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Freedom LDUUV

Oceaneering International, Inc. of Houston, Texas announced 15 February 2024 that its Aerospace and Defense Technologies (ADTech) business segment has been awarded a contract by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a U.S. Department of Defense organization, for the development and testing of the Freedom™ Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) as a potential Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) prototype for the U.S. Navy’s Program Office for Advanced Undersea Systems.

The contract includes a Manufacturing Readiness Review to assess current production capacity and tradeoffs that could be performed to speed LDUUV capabilities to the fleet. The Freedom™ AUV recently completed a five-year test and development program, culminating in commercial operations beginning in 2023. Its design incorporates unique features that make it well suited for commercial and defense operations, including its multi-thruster design which provides six degrees of freedom in vehicle maneuverability. With eight independent thrusters, Freedom supports mission success with its ability to conduct low altitude, precision operations in complex, critical subsea infrastructure environments.

Martin McDonald, Senior Vice President, Subsea Robotics, said: “Oceaneering is pleased to have been selected by the U.S. Navy and the DIU for this program supporting the development of LDUUV capabilities. The Freedom™ AUV offers the flexibility needed to support mission critical operations and we are delighted to be recognized for the flexibility Freedom offers and its suitability to support an LDUUV prototype.”

As a worldwide leader in subsea robotic services, Oceaneering used its Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) database, encompassing over six million hours of operation, to identify several technology building blocks (thrusters, connectors, batteries, etc.) that are key to the performance and reliability of the Freedom™ AUV system. These technology building blocks were designed and tested to provide Freedom with a prolonged maintenance-free operating period, which enables sustained subsea operations. Long duration, reliable performance in subsea environments requires mature maintenance and logistics systems. The Freedom™ AUV uses the same maintenance and logistics systems used by Oceaneering’s fleet of work class ROVs, the largest in the world, which last year performed over 450,000 hours of subsea robotic services.

The Freedom™ Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is the most advanced, resident-capable underwater robotic solution available today. It offers the data resolution and completeness of coverage in a single pass usually only obtainable using an ROV, but with the speed and mission efficiency of a traditional AUV.

The Freedom™ AUV delivers vessel-supported rapid, true single pass pipeline, flowline, and umbilical inspections. A traditional AUV may require two to three passes over the same pipeline to collect the data Freedom can collect in a single pass. Anomaly recognition of free-spans, burials, and crossing can trigger sub-missions for close inspection and data gathering, avoiding subsequent campaigns after the initial survey.

Freedom precisely tracks the asset allowing for close proximity inspection as low as 3-5m altitude using next generation sensors and cameras, providing detailed, data-driven models to support accurate decision making. With over-the-side cage recovery from a vessel or stationed on a resident subsea docking station, Freedom can work in harsh environmental conditions. Freedom’s proprietary software, COMPASS, provides onboard analysis of sonar and computer vision data to support close proximity inspection, touch-free proximity cathodic protection measurement, and hydrocarbon leak detection.

Freedom’s capability to locate, orientate, and horizontally dock with a subsea docking station is a vital component to enable Field of the Future operations. Work can be performed in more challenging weather conditions and for longer continuous durations than traditional ROVs and AUVs by supporting the ability to change tools, recharge, and data offload without the vehicle being recovered to surface.

Oceaneering International, Inc. announced 04 April 2024 that its Subsea Robotics segment recently completed a successful one-week Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) demonstration for the U.S. Navy and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) at Oceaneering’s subsea autonomy testing facility in Norway. During the week, Oceaneering demonstrated its portfolio of capabilities to design, engineer, operate, and maintain the Freedom™ AUV, which was picked to evaluate capabilities of the platform for potential future development of a Large Displacement Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (LDUUV) prototype. The demonstration included several days of at-sea testing where Oceaneering successfully demonstrated many of the autonomous capabilities of the Freedom™ AUV, including undocking, docking, obstacle avoidance, precision payload placement, survey, and transit.

Peter Buchanan, Senior Director for Oceaneering’s Subsea Robotics segment, stated: “It has been an extraordinary experience spending this week with the U.S. Navy and DIU showcasing the exceptional capabilities of our Freedom™ AUV unit. Our collaborative sessions have been instrumental in highlighting the unit’s proven capabilities, efficient data recovery, amazing vehicle control and autonomy, precise mission planning, and effective troubleshooting strategies.

“Despite the unpredictable weather conditions, we maximized our time and successfully displayed Oceaneering’s proficiency in tackling complex challenges, proving our ability to solve the unsolvable. This week has truly exemplified the power of innovation and teamwork in pushing boundaries and achieving remarkable results. Spending the time with an informed and enthusiastic team from the U.S. Navy and DIU has been extremely beneficial to our team.”

The demonstration of Oceaneering’s Freedom™ AUV represents an important milestone in the progression of U.S. defense capabilities for maritime defense and preparedness. Ultimately, advanced UUVs will supplement submarine fleets by conducting autonomous sensing and delivering payloads in challenging, dispersed, deep-sea environments. These events serve as critical baseline assessments to understand capability gaps and inform future development priorities.