The AUTOASSESS project stands at the forefront of innovation in ensuring safety of marine infrastructures, such as ships, oil and gas platforms, and other marine facilities. At its core, this ambitious initiative aims to address a critical problem: the dangerous task of human surveyors who risk their lives to inspect confined areas prone to corrosion, cracks, and deformation.

Currently, human surveyors work in extremely dangerous GNSS-denied environments, including tight enclosed spaces like ballast tanks and cargo holds. These environments are fraught with peril, from low light and slippery surfaces to low oxygen levels and toxic gases. According to the International Marine Organization (IMO), an average of one person loses their life each week due to accidents in such spaces. Moreover, the pressure mounts as the ship is immobilized during inspection, underscoring the urgency for swift and efficient assessment.

These are the main reasons why the AUTOASSESS project aims to revolutionize the inspection landscape by replacing human surveyors with robots. This innovative approach removes individuals from harm’s way, but it also promises accurate, repeatable, and expedient vessel inspections. While advancements in aerial systems and drones have shown promise in mapping and inspection, the unique challenges of enclosed marine structures persist.

The AUTOASSESS project leverages an aerial muti-robotic human centric system, empowered by automated AI-based scanning, mapping, and Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques. By combining and integrating the latest developments in collision-tolerant UAS, multi-modal Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, path planning, autonomous drone racing, aerial manipulation, miniaturized NDT sensors and Machine Learning-based defect identification, the project enables drones to navigate and inspect these tight spaces with unparalleled accuracy.

This superhuman approach not only enhances safety but also slashes inspection time and costs. With inspections completed in as little as one day, the industry stands to save multiple billion euros annually. The AUTOASSESS project heralds a new era in marine infrastructure inspection, where it will be possible to safeguard lives, assets, and the environment.