The acquisition of representative subsea fluid sampling from offshore field development asset is crucial for the correct evaluation of oil reserves and for the design of subsea production facilities. Due to rising operational expenditures, operators and manufacturers have been working hard to provide systems to enable cost effective subsea fluid sampling solutions. To achieve this, any system has to collect sufficient sample volumes to ensure statistically valid characterisation of the sampled fluids. In executing the research project, various subsea sampling methods used in the offshore industry were examined and ranked using multi criteria decision making; a solution using a remote operated vehicle was selected as the preferred method, to compliment the subsea multiphase flowmeter capability, used to provide well diagnostics to measure individual phases – oil, gas, and water. A mechanistic (compositional fluid tracking) model is employed, using the fluid properties that are equivalent to the production flow stream being measured, to predict reliable reservoir fluid characteristics on the subsea production system. This is applicable even under conditions where significant variations in the reservoir fluid composition occur in transient production operations. The model also adds value in the decision to employ subsea processing in managing water breakthrough as the field matures. This can be achieved through efficient processing of the fluid with separation and boosting delivered to the topside facilities or for water re-injection to the reservoir. The combination of multiphase flowmeter, remote operated vehicle deployed fluid sampling and the mechanistic model provides a balanced approach to reservoir performance monitoring. Therefore, regular and systematic field tailored application of subsea fluid sampling should provide detailed understanding on formation fluid, a basis for accurate prediction of reservoir fluid characteristic, to maximize well production in offshore field development.

När digitala produkter ska utvecklas, egentligen alla typer av produkter, måste dess användbarhet utvecklas av någon behörig i området. Vad som är bra design är dock delvis subjektivt, beroende på bland annat faktorer som tidigare erfarenheter och kunskap. Något som ibland blir bortglömt är de yttre faktorerna som påverkar användbarheten. Det är precis vad kontext handlar om, de faktorer som normalt sett inte faller under användbarhet, utan mer som ett extra tillbehör. Vikten av kontextuell förståelse får dock aldrig underskattas, och det är precis vad den här studien är ämnad för. Vad krävs när ett gränssnitt ska utformas för en kontext som faller långt utanför vanligare kontexter som hemma, kontor eller mobilt? Ett projekt genomförs där målet är att ta fram ett användbart gränssnitt till styrning av undervattensrobotar (förkortas ROV). I studien genomförs datainsamling med hjälp av metoder som kontextuella enkäter, där svarande befinner sig i sin rätta kontext under tiden som de skriver svar på öppna frågor kring deras arbetsuppgifter, fysiska- och sociala miljö. Prototyper skapas och diskuteras med beställaren för att ge insikt i användningsmönster och ge svar på användbarhetsfrågor. Det visar sig vara utmanande att arbeta som ROV-pilot, det kräver stor koncentration och de jobbar i långa pass vilket resulterar i trötta huvuden efter en arbetsdag. Detta ställer stora krav på utformningen att få till de visuella byggstenarna på ett sätt som hjälper piloterna utföra sitt arbete så smidigt som det går. Resultatet blir en visuell prototyp som är anpassad efter analyserad data, tillsammans med välkänd teori inom användbarhet från namn som Alan Cooper och Donald Norman.

The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) provides a comprehensive framework of common terminology for organizing physical, chemical, biological, and geological information about marine ecosystems. Federally endorsed as a dynamic content standard, all federally funded data must be compliant by 2018; however, applying CMECS to deep sea datasets and underwater video have not been extensively examined. The presented research demonstrates the extent to which CMECS can be applied to deep sea benthic habitats, assesses the feasibility of applying CMECS to remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video data in near-real-time, and establishes best practices for mapping environmental aspects and observed deep sea habitats as viewed by the ROV’s forwardacing camera. All data were collected during 2014 in the Northern Gulf of Mexico by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ROV Deep Discoverer and ship Okeanos Explorer.

This thesis studies real-time reference ramping of human input for remotely operated vehicles and its effect on system control, power usage, and user experience. The implementation, testing, and evaluation were done on the remotely operated Blueye Pioneer underwater drone. The developed method uses minimum jerk trajectories for transitioning between varying target velocities with a constant end jerk target. It has a low computational cost and runs in real-time on the Blueye Pioneer underwater drone. The presented method produces a well-defined reference with continuous position, velocity, and acceleration states that can be used in the feedback loop. Experiments and simulations show that the method produces a smoother and more predictable motion path for the user. The motions are better suited for video recordings and remote navigation, compared to the direct usage of human input velocity. The smoother reference reduces the controller tracking error, the peak control input, and the energy usage. The introduced acceleration reference state is used for feedforward control on the system. It improves the feeling of controlling the drone by reducing the system lag, the position tracking error, and the rise time for velocity changes.

This dissertation explores a novel omnidirectional propulsion mechanism for observation-class underwater vehicles, enabling for operation in extreme, hostile, or otherwise high-speed turbulent environments where unprecedented speed and agility are necessary. With a small overall profile, the mechanism consists of two sets of counter-rotating blades operating at frequencies high enough to dampen vibrational effects on onboard sensors. Each rotor is individually powered to allow for roll control via relative motor effort and attached to a swashplate mechanism, providing quick and powerful manipulation of fluid-flow direction in the hull's coordinate frame without the need to track rotor position. The omnidirectional mechanism exploits properties emerging from its continuous counter-rotating blades to generate near-instantaneous forces and moments in six degrees of freedom (DOF) of considerable magnitude, and is designed to allow each DOF to be controlled independently by one of six decoupled control parameters. The work presented in this dissertation validates the mechanism through physical small-scale experimentation, confirming near-instantaneous reaction time, and aligning with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) results presented for the proposed theorized full-scale implementation. Specifically, it is demonstrated that the mechanism can generate sway thrust at 10-20% surge thrust capacity in both simulation and physical tests. It is also shown that the magnitude of forces and moments generated is directly proportional to motor effort and corresponding commands, in par with theory. Any apparent couplings between different control modes are deeply understood and shown to be trivially accounted for, effectively uncoupling all six control parameters. The design, principles, and bullard-pull simulation of the proposed full-scale mechanism and vehicle implementation are then thoroughly discussed. Kinematic and hydrodynamic analyses of the hull and surrounding fluid forces during different maneuvers are presented, followed by the mechanical design and kinematic analysis of each subsystem. To estimate proposed full-scale performance specifications and UUV turbulence rejection, a full six-DOF maneuvering model is constructed from first principles utilizing CFD and regression techniques. This dissertation thoroughly examines the working principles and performance of a novel omnidirectional propulsion mechanism. With the small-scale model and full scale simulation and analysis, the work presented successfully demonstrates the mechanism can generate nearly instantaneous omnidirectional forces underwater in a controlled manner, with application to high-speed agile vehicles in dynamic environments. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation explores a novel omnidirectional propulsion mechanism for observation-class underwater vehicles, enabling for operation in extreme, hostile, or otherwise high-speed turbulent environments where unprecedented speed and agility are necessary. The mechanism utilizes independently-powered rotors to command near-instantaneous forces and moments in all six degrees of freedom (DOF). The design allows each DOF to be independently controlled by one of six decoupled control parameters. The method for generating lateral thrust through the mechanism is originally verified through computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tests, but the complete novelty of the lateral maneuver calls for physical verification for any noteworthy validation. The work presented in this dissertation validates the mechanism through physical small-scale experimentation, confirming near-instantaneous reaction time, and aligning with CFD results presented for the proposed theorized full-scale implementation. Specifically, it is demonstrated that the mechanism can generate sway (side/side) thrust at 10-20% surge (forward/backward) thrust capacity in both simulation and physical tests. It is also shown that the magnitude of forces and moments generated is directly proportional to motor effort and corresponding commands, in par with theory. Finally, a full six-DOF model for underwater vehicle trajectory is constructed utilizing detailed maneuvering techniques to estimate full-scale performance. With the small-scale model and full-scale simulation and analysis, the work successfully demonstrates the mechanism can generate nearly instantaneous omnidirectional forces underwater in a controlled manner, with application to high-speed agile vehicles in dynamic environments.

Den svenska vattenkraften står för nästan 50 % av landets elproduktion vilket gör dess konstruktioner till en viktig del av samhällets infrastruktur. För att ett vattenkraftverk ska fungera effektivt och säkert ställs höga krav på komponenternas funktion och kondition. I dagsläget genomförs därför rutinmässiga kontroller på, i och runt dessa anläggningar. För de aggregatnära inre vattenvägarna genomförs detta ca vart åttonde år i samband med reparationer av turbinerna, vilka då måste tömmas på vatten. För till- och utloppstunnlarna, som ofta är drivna i berg, finns det dock inte några sådana rutiner. Detta i kombination med att majoriteten av Sveriges vattenkraftverk har uppnått en ålder på över 50 år gör att branschen har börjat bli intresserade av att få kännedom om skicket på tunnlarna. Att genom-föra inspektioner genom att torrlägga dessa är dock en tidsödande process som kräver att kraftverket är avstängt under en lång tid och därmed ger en stor ekonomisk förlust för ägaren. Detta arbete har därför utförts med syfte att utvärdera till vilken grad inspektioner med undervattensfarkoster, ROV, kan användas som alternativ till inspektioner av inre vatten-vägar, både aggregatnära och i till- och utloppstunnlarna. En litteraturstudie har genomförts, om vattenkraftverk, vanliga skador, dagens inspektionsmetoder samt hur en ROV är uppbyggd och fungerar. Arbetet innefattar även tre praktiska moment bestående av deltagande på en inspektion av torrlagda aggregatnära inre vattenvägar och en inspektion med ROV i en 2,5 km lång utloppstunnel samt egna försök med inhyrd ROV för att undersöka vilka typer av betongskador som är möjliga att detektera. Resultatet från samtliga delar i arbetet pekar på att besiktningar med ROV kan övervägas för flera olika typer av inspektioner. För till- och utloppstunnlar är denna typ av inspektion många gånger den enda rimliga. För de aggregatnära inre vattenvägarna ger dagens inspektionsmetoder med torrläggning ett fullgott resultat, men ROV skulle kunna vara ett alternativ vid svårtillgängliga delar, t.ex. på grund av utformning eller stora läckage. / Swedish hydro power accounts for nearly 50 % of the country's electricity production which makes the constructions within this production system an important part of the societal infrastructure. To ensure safe and efficient operation of these hydroelectric power plants high demands are put on the components function and condition. Therefore, routine inspections are carried out inside and around these facilities. For the waterways directly connected to the power station, such as penstocks, wicket gates and draft tubes, these checkups are made about every eight years simultaneously as planned repairs of the turbine, when the waterways have to be emptied. For the head and trail race tunnels, which often are driven in bedrock, there are no such routines. This, in combination with the fact that the majority of the Swedish hydroelectric plants have attained the age of over 50 years, has led to an increased interest within the industry in ways to increase their knowledge about the condition of these water passageways. To conduct inspections by draining the tunnels is however a very time consuming process that requires the power plant to be turned off for a long time causing a major financial loss for the owner. The purpose of this master thesis is to assess the extent to which inspections with remotely operated vehicles, ROV, can be used as an alternative method for inspections of covered waterways, both those close to the power house and the head and tail race tunnels. A literature study of hydro power plants, common damages, current inspection methods and the construction and function of an ROV, has been conducted. The method also includes three practical activities, participation at inspections in drained waterways and at an ROV inspection of a 2.5 km tail race tunnel. Furthermore, tests with a rented ROV were carried out to investigate what type of concrete damages that are possible to detect using this method. The result from all parts in this thesis indicates that examinations by ROV can be considered for several types of inspections. For head and tail race tunnels, this type of inspection is often the only reasonable method. For the waterways directly connected to the power station, current inspection methods by draining show good result. But the ROV could here be an alternative in inaccessible areas, for instance due to waterway design or heavy leakage for instance.

[pt] Em ambientes aquáticos, o uso tradicional de mergulhadores ou veiculos subaquáticos tripulados foi substituído por veículos subaquáticos não tripulados (como ROVs ou AUVs). Com vantagens em termos de redução de riscos de segurança, como exposição à pressão, temperatura ou falta de ar. Além disso, conseguem acessar áreas de extrema profundidade que até então não eram possiveis para o ser humano. Esses veiculos não tripulados são amplamente utilizados para inspeções como as necessárias para o descomissionamento de plataformas de petróleo Neste tipo de fiscalização é necessário analisar as condições do solo, da tu- bulação e, principalmente, se foi criado um ecossistema próximo à tubulação. Grande parte dos trabalhos realizados para a automação desses veículos utilizam diferentes tipos de sensores e GPS para realizar a percepção do ambiente. Devido à complexidade do ambiente de navegação, diferentes algoritmos de controle e automação têm sido testados nesta área, O interesse deste trabalho é fazer com que o autômato tome decisões através da análise de eventos visuais. Este método de pesquisa traz a vantagem de redução de custos para o projeto, visto que as câmeras possuem um preço inferior em relação aos sensores ou dispositivos GPS. A tarefa de inspeção autônoma tem vários desafios: detectar os eventos, processar as imagens e tomar a decisão de alterar a rota em tempo real. É uma tarefa altamente complexa e precisa de vários algoritmos trabalhando juntos para ter um bom desempenho. A inteligência artificial apresenta diversos algoritmos para automatizar, como os baseados em aprendizagem por reforço entre outros na área de detecção e classificação de imagens Esta tese de doutorado consiste em um estudo para criação de um sistema avançado de inspeção autônoma. Este sistema é capaz de realizar inspeções apenas analisando imagens da câmera AUV, usando aprendizagem de reforço profundo profundo para otimizar o planejamento do ponto de vista e técnicas de detecção de novidades. Contudo, este quadro pode ser adaptado a muitas outras tarefas de inspecção. Neste estudo foram utilizados ambientes realistas complexos, nos quais o agente tem o desafio de chegar da melhor forma possível ao objeto de interesse para que possa classificar o objeto. Vale ressaltar, entretanto, que os ambientes de simulação utilizados neste contexto apresentam certo grau de simplicidade carecendo de recursos como correntes marítimas on dinâmica de colisão em seus cenários simulados Ao final deste projeto, o Visual Inspection of Pipelines (VIP) framework foi desenvolvido e testado, apresentando excelentes resultados e ilustrando a viabilidade de redução do tempo de inspeção através da otimização do planejamento do ponto de vista. Esse tipo de abordagem, além de agregar conhecimento ao robô autônomo, faz com que as inspeções subaquáticas exijam pouca presença de ser humano (human-in-the-loop), justificando o uso das técnicas empregadas. / [en] In aquatic environments, the traditional use of divers or manned underwater vehicles has been replaced by unmanned underwater vehicles (such as ROVs or AUVs). With advantages in terms of reducing safety risks, such as exposure to pressure, temperature or shortness of breath. In addition, they are able to access areas of extreme depth that were not possible for humans until then. These unmanned vehicles are widely used for inspections, such as those required for the decommissioning of oil platforms. In this type of inspection, it is necessary to analyze the conditions of the soil, the pipeline and, especially, if an ecosystem was created close to the pipeline. Most of the works carried out for the automation of these vehicles use different types of sensors and GPS to perform the perception of the environment. Due to the complexity of the navigation environment, different control and automation algorithms have been tested in this area. The interest of this work is to make the automaton take decisions through the analysis of visual events. This research method provides the advantage of cost reduction for the project, given that cameras have a lower price compared to sensors or GPS devices. The autonomous inspection task has several challenges: detecting the events, processing the images and making the decision to change the route in real time. It is a highly complex task and needs multiple algorithms working together to perform well. Artificial intelligence presents many algorithms to automate, such as those based on reinforcement learning, among others in the area of image detection and classification. This doctoral thesis consists of a study to create an advanced autonomous inspection system. This system is capable of performing inspections only by analyzing images from the AUV camera, using deep reinforcement learning, and novelty detection techniques. However, this framework can be adapted to many other inspection tasks. In this study, complex realistic environments were used, in which the agent has the challenge of reaching the object of interest in the best possible way so that it can classify the object. It is noteworthy, however, that the simulation environments utilized in this context exhibit a certain degree of simplicity, lacking features like marine currents or collision dynamics in their simulated scenarios. At the conclusion of this project, a Visual Inspection of Pipelines (VIP) framework was developed and tested, showcasing excellent results and illustrating the feasibility of reducing inspection time through the optimization of viewpoint planning. This type of approach, in addition to adding knowledge to the autonomous robot, means that underwater inspections require little pres- ence of a human being (human-in-the-loop), justifying the use of the techniques employed.

COLARES, Maria Cecília da Silva. Áreas de pesca de lagosta: uma caracterização utilizando geoprocessamento e veículo de operação remota (R.O.V.). 2009. 60 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrária, Departamento de Engenharia de Pesca, Fortaleza-CE, 2009 / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-20T12:14:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_mcscolares.pdf: 7543614 bytes, checksum: 1fb114e9296c6db79c0055a6218ee800 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-07-20T12:14:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_mcscolares.pdf: 7543614 bytes, checksum: 1fb114e9296c6db79c0055a6218ee800 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-20T12:14:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_mcscolares.pdf: 7543614 bytes, checksum: 1fb114e9296c6db79c0055a6218ee800 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / The Continental Shelf is a dynamic constantly studied by different areas, from the Marine Geology, Engineering, Fisheries, Oceanography, Biology etc passing by, including the first submerged region, extending from the coast toward the ocean basin, with an average slope 1: 1000, and an average width of about 40 nautical miles (70 km). The fishing resources available on the continental shelf are many, so that fishing is an extremely profitable activity for some countries. In Brazil there could be different since the country has in its geography over 8000 km of coastline and 200 miles are available for fishing. The Northeast, especially the state of Ceará had since the 70s until the 90s, a great weight on the scales of fish export business, powered by the main appeal and high commercial value abroad: the lobster. This work was carried out on the Continental Shelf eastern state of Ceara, aiming to characterize points of lobster fishing, using a methodology that combines digital image processing, point sampling of sediments, diving and shooting through a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). The results are shown in the form of thematic maps all data and field processed in the laboratory, integrated, showing a perfect applicability of R. O. V. this crossover design and its efficiency in capturing images of the sampled points, thus proving the feasibility and safety of this methodology for future work. We conclude that the application of methodologies cross was effective and achieved its objectives, demonstrating that the use of ROV was essential and definitely better than scuba diving, leading us to adopt it in future in new projects, together with the sampling point or not, depending on the environment to be characterized and defined parameters. / A Plataforma Continental é um ambiente dinâmico constantemente estudado por diversas áreas, desde a Geologia Marinha, Engenharia de Pesca, Oceanografia, passando pela Biologia etc, compreendendo a primeira região submersa, estendendo-se da costa em direção à bacia oceânica, com uma declividade média de 1: 1000, e uma largura média de aproximadamente 40 milhas náuticas (70 km). Os recursos pesqueiros disponibilizados na plataforma continental são muitos, fazendo com que a pesca seja uma atividade extremamente lucrativa para alguns países. No Brasil não poderia ser diferente já que o país apresenta em sua geografia mais de 8000 Km de costa e as 200 milhas náuticas disponíveis para a pesca. O Nordeste, principalmente o Estado do Ceará teve desde a década de 70 até os anos 90, um grande peso na balança comercial de exportação de pescados, alavancados pelo principal recurso e de maior valor comercial no exterior: a lagosta. Esse trabalho foi realizado na Plataforma Continental Leste do Estado do Ceará, visando a caracterização de pontos de pesca de lagosta, utilizando uma metodologia que reúne processamento digital de imagem, amostragem pontual de sedimentos, mergulho autônomo e filmagem através de um R.O.V. (Remotely Operated Vehicle). Os resultados são mostrados em forma de mapas temáticos com todos os dados obtidos em campo e processados em laboratório, integrados, mostrando a perfeita aplicabilidade do R. O. V. nessa metodologia cruzada e sua eficiência na captura das imagens dos pontos amostrados, comprovando assim a viabilidade e segurança dessa metodologia para futuros trabalhos. Concluimos que a aplicação das metodologias cruzadas foi eficaz e atingiu os objetivos propostos, demonstrando que a utilização do R.O.V. foi essencial e definitivamente melhor que o mergulho autônomo, levando-nos a adotá-lo, futuramente em novos projetos, em conjunto com a amostragem pontual ou não, dependendo do ambiente a ser caracterizado e dos parâmetros definidos.

The purpose of this master thesis, performed at FOI, was to evaluate a range gated underwater camera, for the application identification of bottom objects. The master thesis was supported by FMV within the framework of “arbetsorder Systemstöd minjakt (Jan Andersson, KC Vapen)”. The central part has been field trials, which have been performed in both turbid and clear water. Conclusions about the performance of the camera system have been done, based on resolution and contrast measurements during the field trials. Laboratory testing has also been done to measure system specific parameters, such as the effective gate profile and camera gate distances. The field trials shows that images can be acquired at significantly longer distances with the tested gated camera, compared to a conventional video camera. The distance where the target can be detected is increased by a factor of 2. For images suitable for mine identification, the increase is about 1.3. However, studies of the performance of other range gated systems shows that the increase in range for mine identification can be about 1.6. Gated viewing has also been compared to other technical solutions for underwater imaging.

Recent technological advances in unmanned observational platforms, including remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS), have made them highly effective tools for research and monitoring within marine and coastal environments. One of the primary types of data collected by these systems is video imagery, which is often captured at an angle oblique to the Earth’s surface, rather than normal to it (e.g., downward looking). This thesis presents a newly developed suite of tools designed to digitally map oblique imagery data collected with ROV and sUAS in coastal and marine environments and quantitatively evaluates the accuracy of the resultant maps. Results indicate that maps generated from oblique imagery collected with unmanned vehicles have highly variable accuracy relative to maps generated with imagery data collected with conventional mapping platforms. These results suggest that resultant maps have the potential to match or even surpass the accuracy of maps generated with imagery data collected with conventional mapping platforms but realizing that potential is largely dependent upon careful survey design.