ARIAM Hub Researchers joined by the Reach Robotics team, kicked off our Robotic Capability Demonstrator Program on August 28-29th on the MV Cape Don at the Old Coal Loader Centre, Waverton. Despite high winds, our researchers and collaborators were able to deploy ROVs to conduct trials and collect the first datasets of the MV Cape Don vessel. The Reach team collected sonar data and stereo imagery, conducting a brief survey of the prop and hull. The data collected during this trip plus other models including those collected by Trendspek will lay the foundation to create a digital twin of the vessel. It provided the Cape Don crew with their first opportunity to get a glimpse of the current condition of the ship’s hull.
We will be returning in October 2024 to perform new forms of surveying the above water areas of the vessel using the Emesent Hovermap LiDAR scanner.