Subsea Digitalization: From the Virtual World into the Real World—Using Augmented Reality in Offshore Operations

Recent advances have made it possible to include augmented reality (AR) technology in the subsea intervention process to overcome problems commonly encountered during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operations in deep water. Newly developed AR technology uses a state-of-the-art 3D engine to accurately model subsea assets and a geographic information system (GIS) to precisely determine the relative location of assets in the field, creating a virtual 3D visualization of the subsea facilities. ROV operations are enhanced by superimposing the virtual environment onto the live feed of the ROV's pilot camera. Merging real-time camera images with AR and other data streams augments visibility, improves safety, increases efficiency, and reduces overall costs. The use of AR technology for subsea operations is enabled by advanced software to digitalize subsea assets, cloud computing to run applications and store data, satellite communications to link offshore operations to onshore decision-makers, command centers that support remote operations, and simulation techniques for pre-job planning and ROV pilot training. Since testing began in 2015, the AR-enhanced process has been applied in deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea. Looking ahead, it is expected that the experience using AR and structured data sets for improved subsea activity will lead to fully autonomous operations controlled by artificial intelligence to achieve project objectives with lower risk and greater efficiency.