Page 54: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (Nov/Dec 2022)

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TECH FILE ROBOTICS government R&D funding. small vessels, but reach up to 20m high and be moved rela-

The Neptune a two-part articulated arm that has been tively quickly,” explains Andreas, allowing the system to designed to be able to carry 3-4 people or 1,000 tonne of be installed on a 36m catamaran or a 54m-long monohull. equipment up to a height of 20m above the seabed and All joints, the slew-ring and the gimbal base are moved 20m reach, with +-10cm station keeping accuracy. with hydraulic cylinders or motors (the HPU isn’t part of

It weighs 12-tonne, with a 2.5m x 3m foundation foot- the 12 tonne), because of the need for speed and accuracy, print, and is based on a steel truss structure, “For lightness using a computer control system – software and hardware and stiffness, as they have to be mounted on to relatively at the heart of the system – that takes in the vessel’s six de-

STL’s Neptune during onshore trials. 54 OFFSHORE ENGINEER OEDIGITAL.COM