Meet Scout| the AI-driven underwater vehicle for offshore wind inspections

Offshore technology services provider Beam has launched Scout, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) driven by artificial intelligence (AI).

The new solution, recently demonstrated at SSE’s Seagreen Wind Farm in September, will combine AI, real-time 3D reconstructions, and precise navigation to enhance offshore inspections.

According to Beam, Scout will help make inspections faster and more cost-effective because of its self driving capabilities requiring minimal human intervention.

The system can not only perform inspections by itself, but can also report back once the inspection is completed.

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Commenting in a statement was Beam’s CEO, Brian Allen: “Scout will place world-leading technology directly into the hands of wind farm operators and accelerate the industry’s growth at a critical time. Meeting national and international capacity targets will require all operators, not just those with extensive resources, to scale their operations at pace. Scout is therefore a crucial part of enabling the future of offshore wind.” 

Scout will be deployed directly by people from existing Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs) during routine visits.

According to Beam, using Scout will minimise the need for third-party services thereby allowing more frequent inspections. Furthermore, the solution will provide year on year comparisons and data on asset health, facilitating predictive maintenance and ultimately reducing operating costs.  

Scout will also deliver a reduced carbon footprint, said Beam, by lowering fuel consumption and emissions associated with specialised underwater campaigns.