Canada-based subsea services provider Dominion Diving has customised its Saab Seaeye Cougar XT light work electric robotic vehicle to boost its performance.
The resulting Cougar XT custom version could handle a tooling package normally possible only on a larger hydraulic system, and take on three demanding tasks in one hit.
The task was to profile a manifold site using multibeam sonar; then operate a trash pump to excavate and clear sand and debris from the valve row, before engaging a torque tool to isolate the manifold and then operate a manipulator to turn paddle valves.
Matthew Lohnes , president of Dominion, explained: “We effectively turned the Cougar into a work class system that could undertake tasks typically needing 100hp hydraulic tooling and perform three roles in one tooling package.”
“In building the package we added extra channels to control different survey equipment, and built an enlarged skid to accommodate the tooling which included a Kraft Predator seven-function force feedback manipulator and a torque tool.”
Faced with a new one-ton payload, Dominion added an additional thruster to the Cougar XT’s six thruster pack. The result was a compact system that undertook all three tasks whilst operating in currents of 2.5 knots and working in a confined space.