International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering

The Society of Naval Architects of Korea (대한조선학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Recent developments in remote inspections of ship structures

  • Received : 2019.10.25
  • Accepted : 2020.09.05
  • Published : 2020.12.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

In recent years robotics has become an important resource in engineering. Adoption of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in activities related to ship inspections has obvious potential advantages, but also arises particular challenges, both from technical and legal viewpoints. The ROBINS project (ROBotics technology for INspection of Ships) is a collaborative project co-funded within the H2020 EU Research and Innovation programme call, aimed at filling the gap between current ship inspections approach and available robotic technology, both from technological and regulatory point of view. Main goal of the present work is to highlight how ship inspections are currently carried out by humans, how they could be improved using RAS, even if not completely autonomous for the time being, at least in selected operational scenarios and how the performances of RAS platforms can be tested to assess their effectiveness in carrying out surveys onboard. In such a framework, a testing facility aimed at assessing RAS' capabilities as well as providing suitable environment for their development has been built and it is still under development along with dedicated testing protocols, able to assess the equivalence between human and RAS inspection of ship and marine structures. The features of a testing facility where RAS can be tested and the testing protocols are presented, showing how technological and regulatory gaps are filled.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 779776. Its support is gratefully acknowledged.

References

  1. RINA, Amendments to the Rules for the Certification of Service Suppliers, Doc.3.2, 16 November 2018, Registro Italiano Navale, Genova, Italia.
  2. Caldwell, R., 2017. Hull Inspection Techniques and Strategy - Remote Inspection Developments. Society of Petroleum Engineers - SPE Offshore Europe Conference and Exhibition, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 5 - 8 September 2017.
  3. Huang, Haocai, Li, Danhua, Zhao, Xue, Chen, XianLei, Liu, Shuyu, Leng, Jianxing, Yan, Wei, 2017. Design and performance analysis of a tracked wall-climbing robot for ship inspection in shipbuilding. Ocean. Eng. 131, 224-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.01.003
  4. Knapp, Sabine, Franses, PhH.B.F., 2006. Analysis of the Maritime Inspection Regimes - Are Ships Over-inspected. Erasmus University Rotterdam, Econometric Institute, Econometric Institute Report.
  5. IACS, No, Recommendation, Sep 2002. 78 Safe Use of Portable Ladders for Close-Up Surveys. International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  6. IACS, Recommendation No. 39 Safe Use of Rafts or Boats for Survey, Rev.3 Mar 2009, International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  7. IACS, No, Recommendation, Mar 2014. 134 Boat Transfers Safe Practice. International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  8. IACS, Recommendation No. 140 Recommendation for Safe Precautions during Survey and Testing of Pressurized Systems, June 2015, International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  9. IACS, No, Recommendation, July 2015. 141 Guidelines for the Assessment of Safety Aspects at Workplace. International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  10. IACS, Recommendation No. 72 Confined Space Safe Practice, Corr.1 Sep 2017, International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  11. IACS, Procedural Requirement No, Apr 2013. 37 Procedural Requirement for Confined Space Entry. International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  12. Ravina E., A Pneumatic Climbing Robot for Inspection Tasks, 10th Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power, SICFP07, May 21-23, 2007, Tampere, Finland.
  13. Ravina E., Low cost pneumatronic unit for pipes inspection, ASME 2010 10th Biennial Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis, vol. 3, Istanbul, Turkey, July 12-14, 2010, Istanbul, Turkey.s.
  14. Ravina E., Self-moving Pneumatic Unit for Ducts Inspection Tasks, 12th Scandinavian International Conference on Fluid Power, SICFP'11, May 18-21, 2011, Tampere, Finland.
  15. Ravina, E., 2012. Ducts Inspection by Means of Self-Moving Pneumatronic Robot, 11th Biennal ASME Conference on Engineering System Design and Analysis, ESDA, pp. 2-4. July 2012, Nantes, France.
  16. Ravina, E., 2015. Self-moving Units for Inspection Tasks of Marine Structures and Plants, Intl. Conf. On Ships and Shipping Research, NAV. Lecco, Italy. June 24-26 2015.
  17. Ravina, E., 2017. Team of pneumatic ASI-controlled climber robots for ship inspection. In: Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics. RAAD, Italy. June 21 - 23 2017, Turin.
  18. Ravina E., Concept Design of an Autonomous Mechatronic Unit for Inspection of Holds, Progress in the Analysis and Design of Marine Structures" MARSTRUCT 2107, May 8 - 10 2017, Lisboa, Portugal.
  19. IACS, Rec 42 Guidelines for Use of Remote Inspection Techniques for Surveys, Rev.2 June 2016, International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  20. IACS, Rec 76 Guidelines for Surveys, Assessment and Repair of Hull Structure - Bulk Carriers, Corr.1 Sept 2007, International Association of Classification Societies, London, UK.
  21. LR, Remote Inspection Technique Systems (RITS), Assessment Standard for Use on LR Class Surveys of Steel Structure, October 2018, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, London, UK.
  22. Rizzo, C.M., 2011. Life cycle of ships and offshore structures-inspection and survey of ship structures: an introduction. A Rational Overview of Ships Inspection and Maintenance Regime. In: Ships, Offshore Structure (Eds.), Jeom Kee Paik, in Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), Developed under the Auspices of the UNESCO. EOLSS Publishers, Oxford, UK. http://www.eolss.net.
  23. Rizzo, C.M., Paik, J.K., Brennan, F., Carlsen, C.A., Daley, C., Garbatov, Y., Ivanov, L., Cerup-Simonsen, B., Yamamoto, N., Zhuang, H.Z., 2007. Current practices and recent advances in condition assessment of aged ships. Ships Offshore Struct. 2 (3), 261-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445300701423486.
  24. Rizzo, C.M., 2008. Inspection of Aged Ships and Offshore Structures, Condition Assessment of Aged Structures. In: Paik, J.K., Melchers, R.E. (Eds.), Ch. 13. Woodhead publishing Ltd., pp. 367-406, 978 1 84569 334 3.
  25. ABS, March 2018. Guidance Notes on Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. American Bureau of Shipping, Houston, TX USA.
  26. Wen, F., Wolling, J., McSweeney, K., Gu, H., 2018. Unmanned aerial vehicles for survey of marine and offshore structures: a classification organization's viewpoint and experience. In: Proceedings of the Annual Offshore Technology Conference, vol. 5, pp. 3737-3745. Houston, United States, 30 April 2018 through 3 May 2018.
  27. IACS, UR, Feb 2010. Z10.1 Hull Surveys of Oil Tankers, Rev.17. http://www.iacs.org.uk/download/4502.
  28. IACS, UR, 2015. Z10.2 Hull surveys of bulk carriers. Rev. 32. http://www.iacs.org.uk/download/4504.
  29. IACS, 18 Jan 2011. URZ7 Hull Classification Surveys, Rev. http://www.iacs.org.uk/download/4562.

Cited by

  1. Advanced Development of Sensors’ Roles in Maritime-Based Industry and Research: From Field Monitoring to High-Risk Phenomenon Measurement vol.11, pp.9, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093954
  2. Long-Term Marine Environment Exposure Effect on Butt-Welded Shipbuilding Steel vol.9, pp.5, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9050491
  3. Condition assessment of ship structure using robot assisted 3D-reconstruction vol.68, pp.3, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/09377255.2021.1872219