VIDEO: Subsea robot set for 6-month deployment

Saab says it is the world’s first resident subsea robot, and can remain at sea for up to six months thanks to the docking station, which can be attached to a suction anchor directly on the sea floor or mounted on an existing piece of infrastructure, said sales director Peter Erkers.

Modus, which has been contracted by Equinox for the work, can control the robot from its UK head office, where the control centre is based. Modus was one of Saab’s first commercial customers for the Sabertooth, Saab says.

”Behind the Sabertooth’s success is 10 years’ development by Saab Seaeye engineers in Sweden and the UK, wheredvanced military and commercial technologies were integrated to create the innovative Sabertooth concept and its multirole capability,” the company says.

”The vehicle is charged through a inductive charging connector, which will charge and communicate (download and upload data),” said Erkers. “Depending on the type of operation it could be there for three to six months, carrying out different types of inspection – laser, camera, sonar, etc. The docking station is powered from the production field at Johan Svedrup with a cable from an existing power source.

”The unique features in this contract and using this drone is that it’s an AUV and will be operated both in supervised and full AUV mode. The whole idea is to have minimum interaction with surface ships and crew offshore. The Sabertooth is designed to travel long distances, and this is one of the reasons for using it in this application.”