1. The system combines video, NDT probes and any oth-
er Ethernet-cabled instruments. Moorings anchored to the
seafloor support the buoy for long-term deployments. Most
recently, WorleyParsons has been investigating drill support
and defense applications where the device is tethered to the
land or the mother ship.
As a result of 36 months of development in Perth, Aus-
tralia, and field trials, both at the Australian Maritime Com-
plex in Henderson,
Australia, and offshore
Port Hedland, Austra-
lia, WorleyParsons now
delivers more accurate
and reliable data than
data obtained with
divers, at an increased
frequency and on de-
mand. The accuracy
and regularity of these
data provide a basis for
more informed project
decisions, and maxi-
mize productivity and
schedule integrity by
Citizens, sailors and scientists have observed the seas for
centuries—first from the shore, then from ships and sub-
mersibles, and more recently from satellites. Along the way,
scientists and engineers learned that sometimes they could
leave instruments in the ocean, secured by wires, buoys,
weights and floats. Each new attempt has advanced our un-
derstanding of the ocean system and its interaction with the
rest of the planet.
The next big leap will take the form of ocean observato-
ries. These will house suites of instruments and sensors with
long-term power supplies and permanent communications
links that can feed data to scientific laboratories in real time.
One such tool taking that big leap is the Unmanned
Subsea Surveyor (USS), a hybrid ROV/AUV developed by
WorleyParsons (Sydney, Australia). It completed sea trials in
December 2013, and the company has begun taking orders
for its subsea robot. This achievement puts WorleyParsons
in a position to remotely inspect subsea assets or the subsea
environment with precision repeatability for up to a year,
all executed from the office. A system of high-tech sensors
with precision accuracy enables real-time monitoring and
data gathering from the ocean floor, and has numerous ap-
plications, including permanent subsea inspection, marine
sciences, defense and subsea mining.
Unmanned Subsea Surveyor
The core innovation enabling the USS to
provide a superior monitoring outcome re-
lates to technology that allows a remote user
to capture a variety of images (or other pe-
ripherals) in a subsea environment. The USS
extends 10 meters from the base and rotates
360°, covering 300 square meters with re-
peated precision between surveys. The USS
can be completely piloted over the Internet
in real time, giving scientists, students, edu-
cators and policy makers better data on the
state of the ocean at the sites being surveyed.
The USS could lead to potential discoveries
or collaboration between many different
disciplines in the study of the ocean.
Subsea Robot for Ocean Observation
Or Asset Inspection Service
USS Hybrid ROV/AUV Enables Remote Monitoring
By Peter Mellor
(Top) The Unmanned Subsea Surveyor being deployed off Perth, Aus-
tralia. (Bottom) The USS range of motion.
Reprinted from Sea Technology magazine. For more information about the magazine, visit www.sea-technology.com
©Copyright 2014 by Compass Publications Inc. Sea Technology (ISSN 0093-3651) is published monthly by Compass Publications Inc., Suite 1010, 1600 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22209; (703) 524-3136; oceanbiz@sea-technology.com.

2. All cables subsea are isolated and wet mateable. When
the camera system is not in use, it retracts into a UV-
light docking station with a combination of remotely
controlled wipers to eliminate biofouling.
Results from sea trials have indicated all degrees of
freedom. The USS extends 10 meters from the base,
12.1 meters high from the horizon and 5.4 meters be-
low the horizon. Repeatability and accuracy for auto-
matic surveys (as opposed to manually driving) showed
the robot navigated to expected position. Error accura-
cies are as follows: slew +/- 0.26°; lift +/- 0.46°; luff
+/- 0.46°; and reach +/- 30 millimeters. The USS fed
live high-definition video and stills of known targets for
later analysis.
Conclusion
In the past, industrial robots
were used extensively in manu-
facturing and construction, such
as in the steel and automobile
industries, and, thus, industry
was the main focus of research
development. However, to im-
prove quality of life in a range
of settings, research institutions
and private industry, including
the marine sector, have recently
begun to focus on designing and producing service robots.
WorleyParsons has successfully developed a hybrid
ROV/AUV that can maintain long-term deployments in the
marine environment and feed real-time video and other in-
formation from its peripherals. At present, WorleyParsons is
the manufacturer, operator and service provider, although it
has approached other potential partners.
The development and installation of underwater observa-
tories benefits many research areas in the marine sciences,
as well as projects for technological innovation, but this is
the first system that can capture measurements repeatedly
and accurately over a large spatial area (i.e., millimeter ac-
curacy over a 300-square-meter area). Internationally, gov-
ernments have proposed different initiatives, such as the
NEPTUNE cabled observatory from the United States/Can-
ada, the VENUS from Canada, the ARENA cabled network
from Japan, the ALOHA cabled observatory for Hawaii and
the ESONET network of excellence promoted by the Euro-
pean Union (FP6—2005-Global.4—ESONET 036851—2
European Seas Observatory NETwork).
Among all the different research areas related to underwa-
ter observatories, one of the most active is subsea optics and
object viewing/imaging, as developed in the USS. Thus, the
USS has applications for the environmental, dredging, asset
inspection, government, oil and gas and defense sectors. n
expediting data analysis and sub-
sequent reporting.
Extension and retraction of the
boom is driven by a complex ar-
ray of guidelines, which are con-
trolled by hydraulic pumps. Similarly, hydraulic pumps con-
trol the slew, lift and luff of the robot. This hydraulic system
is over an electric system that the buoy powers from the
surface.
The buoy can be deployed in the
ocean to support ocean observato-
ries or other subsea equipment with
a large power load.The buoy’s stan-
dard umbilical provides fiber-optic
and 240 volts to the seabed and te-
lemetry to the shore. Data can be
downloaded remotely
anywhere in the world.
Using built-in PLCs, the
buoy wakes at set times
and starts a marine-grade
generator. The generator
provides 120 to 240 volts
at 4.8 kilowatts (con-
tinuous) to the seabed.
The generator works to
an angle of 45° incline.
An in-built velocimeter
prevents it from start-
ing in rough sea states.
Fuel within the buoy has
250-liter diesel capacity
that is triple bunded.
The USS currently
relies on hybrid cables
for electricity and opti-
cal communications as
well as retrieval and de-
ployment, having triple
armoring and a 44-kilo-
newton breaking load.
(Top) USS software showing way-
points for repetitive coral surveys
for marine construction monitor-
ing. (Right) The USS undertaking a
terrestrial inspection at almost full
extension.
(Top) The USS undertaking re-
mote conspicuous CCTV inspec-
tions. (Bottom) The topside buoy
for the USS (note the skid being
lowered into the buoy).
Peter Mellor is the manager of ports, marine terminals
and marine sciences within WorleyParsons’s Perth,
Australia, office and is a Ph.D. candidate. He has led
field teams and project delivery for more than 300
million cubic meters of dredging. He leads technol-
ogy development of diverless solutions at WorleyPar-
sons for a range of private and public sector clients.
Industry areas serviced include quarrying and min-
ing, petroleum and gas, water supply and treatment,
transport, defense and government authorities.