In 2024, Meta and Saildrone collaborated to evaluate the capabilities of the 20-meter Saildrone Surveyor Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) during a 26-day demonstration in the North Atlantic, covering 4,500 km (plus 2,000 km of transit) without any port calls or outside assistance.
Conducted in June and July, the demonstration took place along previously surveyed cable routes, thus allowing for direct comparisons in terms of progress rates, line keeping, data quality, and coverage. Water depths ranged from 900 m to 5,500 m, with the latest Kongsberg EM304 MKII used to capture seabed data over a swathe of up to 10 km in width.
Metrics on fuel consumption and environmental impact demonstrated greenhouse gas emissions were more than 200 times lower than that of a conventional survey vessel over the same distance. A Starlink satellite link was used for real-time data analysis and communications.
This presentation will discuss the advantages of Saildrone’s wind-assisted, unmanned platform, which could revolutionize deep water route surveying. It will also discuss the future developments necessary to meet the demands of subsea telecommunications projects.
