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Description
The shipping industry faces significant challenges in ensuring the safety of ship operators. Inspecting vessels requires dry-docking the ship, a process that can be dangerous for inspection staff, as it often requires working at great heights. It is also costly and time-consuming.
SCRUFY is an R&D project consisting of the development of a robotic crawler (incl. prototype) to be used for biofouling inspection and cleaning of the ship hull. The project aims to create a safer environment for maritime workers, as well as increasing the quality of inspection procedures in the shipping industry. This is achieved by replacing manual ship hull inspections with this advanced, automated Non-Destructive Testing system named SCRUFY, capable of inspecting safety-critical hull welds at sea.
The robotic crawler will operate underwater, it will be capable of navigating autonomously on the ship surface enabling it to perform various tasks such as weld inspection, corrosion mapping, surface coating thickness measurement, in-service hull cleaning etc. The robotic platform will be able to withstand hydrodynamic forces and move freely around the hull while the ship is moving. A novel software and algorithm for analysis and visualization of non-destructive testing-results, as well as a more sophisticated extension of the software will also be developed, enabling the robot to navigate autonomously on the ship hull.
The innovative technology is new to the company and to the market. Approximately 26 jobs are to be created through the project. Additionally, the promoter will develop a market strategy to help it position SCRUFY in the market. These two activities will build and increase the business capacity of the company. Early indications show promising results, with several shipbuilding contractors expressing interest in SCRUFY.
Summary of project results
The development of biofouling on the ship hull poses a significant problem, leading to high fuel consumption and high maintenance costs for vessels. Through this project, a robotic crawler was developed for operating executing and maintenance operations; this robot eliminates biofouling development to achieve optimum hull performance.
Furthermore, safety and environmental regulations mandate rapid and cost-effective solutions that ensure safety of personnel and goods at sea. Aiming towards increased cost-efficiency and increased safety for personnel and goods at sea, the key objective of the SCRUFY-project was to optimize maintenance costs and the efficiency of inspection procedures within the shipping sector.
An autonomous operated magnetic crawler for performance of fully automated ship hull inspections while at sea was developed. The solution differentiates from the industry norm by providing autonomous navigation powered with AI, allowing the robot to execute multi hour missions unattended while the ship is at sea.
It is able to execute operations under water and remotely, eliminating the need for inspection during dry docking and thus increasing the safety of maritime inspectors.
It eliminates biofouling development to achieve optimum hull performance. The product features magnetic tracks with powerful permanent magnets for safe attachment and soft rubber belts providing enough grip for robust navigation whilst being very gentle with the surface coating.
The cleaning is achieved with the soft polyamide brushes, at the stage of micro-fouling / slime. Ultra-high-resolution cameras allow for remote fouling data acquisition and analysis through exclusively developed AI algorithms which map and quantify the level of fouling on the various parts of the hull.
The R&D activities included designing the product specifications, developing the cleaning and grooming module, manufacturing the modular hydrodynamic chassis, developing the algorithms, analysing the Non-Destructive Testing scope, filing for the patent, pilot testing and validating the new robot on several vessels.
An additional activity was implemented referring to the development of a Business Plan on how to best market the robotic crawler, and training the promoter''s employees in business modelling and planning, in order to increase the company''s business capacity.
The robotic crawler, which was developed through this project, is able to inspect the vessel at sea eliminating the need for dry-docking, thus resulting in substantial cost reductions for shipowners. Moreover, significant fuel savings are achieved leading to reduced CO2 emissions.
In addition to providing ship owners with enhanced efficiency during inspection procedures, the crawler’s ability to perform inspections autonomously and remotely eliminates the need for human intervention, thus ensuring a safer environment for maritime inspectors, an important concern in an industry often fraught with risks.