Contracted by MMT AB to provide specialist hydrographic survey personnel onboard the MV Franklin for the first Swedish Maritime Robotics Center (SMaRC) Workshop. SMaRC was created to promote innovative research in the area of maritime robotics, funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research as an Industrial Research Center. The research focus is on three target application areas; ocean production, safeguarding society and environmental monitoring including missions in unexplored polar marine environments. The aim is to develop technologies for increased autonomy and endurance of marine robots (typically AUVs or ROVs) to reduce the reliance on ships and crews, and thereby drastically reduce costs of operation. SMaRC brings together researchers, specialists and end users from KTH, FOI, SAAB, MMT, Stockholm University and Gothenburg University.
The aim of the workshop was to provide a number of PhD students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of what is currently achievable with the hardware and software employed within the hydrographic survey industry. The vessel’s hull-mounted Kongsberg EM2040 dual-head multibeam system was utilised to determine accurate positions of two known wrecks, with detailed imaging performed using a towed Edgetech sidescan system. Visual inspection of one of the wrecks was conducted using the vessel’s Comanche ROV, with water samples also taken for oil leak analysis.