The Ocean RINGS is a suite of smart technologies for
subsea operations developed over the last ten years at the Mobile & Marine
Robotics Research Centre (MMRRC), University of Limerick, Ireland. Applied to
mini ROVs, OceanRINGS technologies enable remote presence: long endurance
robotic systems for routine inspection of offshore subsea oil & gas
installations and marine renewable energy devices controlled from a remote
control centre (Virtual Control Cabin) through the Internet in real time.
Remote presence with mini ROVs enable more regular (even continuous)
inspections of sub-sea structures, including observatories, marine renewable
energy (MRE) devices and offshore oil & gas installations (wellheads,
pipelines etc.) and facilitates early stage detection of abnormalities and
defects. The majority of the cost-savings for offshore oil & gas is the
prevention of failure in one of the production arteries (downhole tubing,
pipelines and production vessels). Money lost through lost production far
outweighs the costs associated with maintenance. The Ocean RINGS smart
technologies could lead to significant savings in time, maintenance and
operational costs (20% or more), if they become available for wide scale
commercial and industrial use. This paper describes the main idea and
motivation behind the Remote Presence concept.