Collaborative work on underwater robot shortlisted for award

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12 December 2022 News

Over the past 24 months, a total of 11 partners from across seven countries have been working to create the world’s first underwater robot, which can be controlled from a safe, remote distance and is able to repair a damaged ship’s hull using pioneering FSW technology. The project has been created with the long-term view to allow FSW work to be carried out on the hull of the ship while still at sea, removing the requirement for the ship to travel to the nearest dry dock.

Funded by the European Commission, the partners have been working on the pioneering RESURGAM (Robotic Survey, Repair and Agile Manufacture) Project which will result in pioneering friction stir welding (FSW) technology being developed to prevent ships having to dry dock for repairs. RESURGAM will be tested in early in 2023 and it is hoped that if successful further funding can be obtained to take the product to a commercial state.

The high standard of collaboration and innovation on the project has been recognised as the RESURGAM project was shortlisted in the Manufacturing Technology category at The Engineer Collaborate to Innovate Awards 2023.

The process of docking is an extremely costly one to industry as it can take the ship out of action for days, but the RESURGAM technology will allow a responsive repair to be carried out, from a remote distance, anywhere in the world. This would save industry a substantial amount of time and money by allowing the ship to continue on its path without any disruption.

The technology will also remove the risk to human life as it takes away the requirement for specialist divers to work on the ship’s hull in often hazardous conditions.

Cumbrian engineering company Forth has been appointed as technical managers on the initiative, and has been working closely with partners from various EU countries. Chris Downham, the operations manager at Forth, said, “Collaboration is at the heart of the RESURGAM Project and it has been a really exciting initiative to work on as it has pulled together a variety of organisations, such as SMEs, naval architects, research organisations, universities and welding institutions, from different countries across Europe.”

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Collaborative work on underwater robot shortlisted for award

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