Standardization of wireless charging for marine robotics paving the way towards e-boat charging.

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Technological advancements in underwater robotics, for instance, high-resolution cameras, superior manipulator arms, and highly sensitive sonar have led to a reduction in the timelines and costs required to engineer subsea equipment, consequently opening an ocean of opportunities in the compact underwater drone market. Ultra cost-effective underwater inspection, control, sensor data acquisition is at anyone's reach i.e. fish farmers, offshore wind, environmental studies. Increasing the light subsea drone market value proposition with unlimited autonomy provided by wireless charging subsea is the next evolutionary step. However, in the subsea world, inductive couplers are not standardised, produced individually and customised to a specific project. Since these are project-adapted deliveries, the product specifications change from one delivery to the next, resulting in poor interoperability between equipment. Tailor-made production method is (i) costly, (ii) does not scale, (iii) prevent the exportation of Norwegian technology abroad and lock customers to one single provider, which is detrimental for market growth. To solve this challenge, in this project, we plan to work along the lines of an open standard product line that would contribute significantly towards the interoperability of subsea equipment, ensuring that operators and suppliers can achieve a more robust and cost-effective subsea technology. The product line we intend to develop in this project is an interoperable, cost-effective, ultra compact yet powerful advanced wireless charger for light weight subsea robots with applicability on unmanned surface vehicles. The developed product will contain all power electronics and regulation protocols to address 80% of the light subsea drones electrical requirement.