Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR) , IIT Madras
Underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) for Performing Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) of Submerged Pipeline Structures
Technology Category/Market
Category – Robotics, Non destructive Evaluation
Applications – Non destructive evaluation & testing, Marine, Ports & Terminals, Deep-sea Pipeline inspection, Advanced ROVs for Industrial applications
Industry – NDT, Oil & Gas, Marine, Defense
Market – The global remotely operated vehicle (ROV) market to grow from 2022 – 2030 at a CAGR of 10.50%. The ROV market’s was worth nearly USD 1.6 billion in 2022, which will likely reach USD 3.2 billion by 2030.
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Problem Statement
- Recently, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) have become the go-to tool for oil and gas construction and maintenance tasks.
- Since, ROV is equipped with sensors for navigation, control and external ultrasonic inspection of submerged pipe, therefore it is well suited to work in thousands of metres of water, or just a few, within the energy sector.
- These ROVs can be widely implemented on mobile platforms for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data.
Technology
- The technology is an underwater remotely operated vehicle to carry out a non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of pipes, using circumferential guided waves along with a gripper mechanism which provides the capability of scanning a structure from a single location.
- The ROV has a detachable hull with on-board cameras to provide live-streaming vision for an on-shore operator through wired cables.
- Further, the ROV navigates underwater with stability-assist sensors for easy operation.
- The overall ROV design (Fig.1) is compact and modular to enable up-gradation of technology and easy adaptation to more stringent operational requirements.
Key Features/Value Proposition
- Total length – 700 mm
- Depth range – 60-70 metres
- Total mass – 21 kgs
- ROV is neutrally buoyant, which avoids extra power consumption and ease in maneuvering.
- Propulsion BTD 150 thrusters
- Propulsion Specifications – 18 volts, maximum 2.2 kgf continuous thrust
- Vision – 8MP, 1080p HD web camera
- Power Source – Lipo Battery
- Payload capacity – 2.5kgs.
Questions about this Technology?
Contact for Licensing
Research Lab
Prof. Prabhu Rajagopal
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Intellectual Property
- IITM IDF Ref. 1217
- IN 401043 – Patent Granted
Technology Readiness Level
TRL – 4
Technology Validated in laboratory & field