Following an extensive technological development phase, Armach Robotics, a spin-off company from Marine software pioneer Greensea Systems, has unveiled its first post-prototype Hull Service Robot (HSR).
Armach was launched in November 2021 to capitalise on Greensea’s digital expertise to offer an industry-leading subscription model, proactive and robotic hull cleaning system using autonomy, intelligence and data fusion.
Part of the company’s USP is the HSR itself, said to be a disruptive technology in hull cleaning, being man-portable at under 30kg and around 86cm long, reducing deployment costs and increasing convenience. This Smaller, Smarter, Better robot was recently launched for its first in-water trials at Plymouth, Massachusetts, making proactive in-water cleaning a viable solution for fuel saving and optimised ship performance.
Armach offers shipowners a proactive, autonomous in-water robotic cleaning solution. The company’s ‘Robot as a Service’ solution offers shipowners a constantly clean hull and following each cleaning operation provides an accurate georeferenced hull condition survey. The technology is not coating specific and is powered by Greensea’s autonomy, intelligence and data fusion technologies. Armach’s business model provides cleaning robots to ships, ports, harbours and established service providers on a monthly subscription basis.
James Truman, Armach VP Engineering, said: “My favourite job in this industry is working on next-generation systems. The team learns so much in the development and testing of a product for a new application but once a vehicle is sufficiently functional then the pace of design evolution slows dramatically. Designing the next generation, once you have a good understanding of the requirements and have developed proven key components, is an amazing opportunity.”
The original prototypes consisted of off-the-shelf navigation systems, a custom crawler skid, and a separate ROV all bolted together, but the equipment has been more efficiently integrated in the final version.
Truman said: “It worked well in the prototypes but was expensive and clunky. For the purpose-built Armach HSR we stripped out a lot of the structural and electrical overhead from the prototypes. That gave us a smaller, lighter, and more streamlined vehicle that can operate in faster water currents and on lower friction coatings. We’ve tested extensively to minimize hull-coating impact and will continue accelerated life testing and design iteration to ensure long term reliability”.
Greensea has experience in intelligent control systems for underwater robots. The vehicle is purpose built around miniaturized navigation sensors. Greensea’s Opensea fuses a navigation solution from the sensors and provides solid vehicle control.
For the HSR vehicle, Armach designed and is producing the electro-mechanical drive and cleaning components in-house because it needed not only high power-density and packaging but also precision control and feedback.
“The resulting performance driving on a hull as well as the free-flying stability are amazing. The networked architecture and Safec2 functionality mean we can monitor or control the vehicles from anywhere in the world,” said Truman.
