Almost every day, maintenance workers leave for offshore installations to carry out the necessary maintenance work. Components or tools regularly break down, which can lead to some work not being carried out or having to be postponed. This results in a lot of lost time and unnecessary costs.
The SMARAGD ("SMart Autonomous Reliable Aquatic Goods Drone") project aims to develop an unmanned vessel that can autonomously send parts or tools to offshore locations. This will allow technicians to be deployed more efficiently and reduce the number of trips.
The partners will design a specific hull that will integrate the required functionalities (unmanned operation, container transport and automated cargo handling (LARS)) as well as the associated systems (energy and propulsion, intelligent Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) and the LARS).
A successful implementation of the project will essentially lead to the (onshore) warehouse being closer to the offshore workplace. After translating the concept into a working system, the aim is to achieve a fleet of 20 such vessels in 10 years' time.
Partners: e-Bo Enterprises,GEOxyz, MULTI.engineering and ERPA Industrial Supplier.
With the support of: VLAIO.
