Imagine sending a tiny, smart robot into a dark, cramped metal box where humans can't breathe or fit. Instead of a person risking their life to find rust, these drones fly in, map the area in 3D, and touch the walls to check for thin spots. It's like having a high-tech flying inspector that does in one day what used to take two weeks.
Manual inspection of ship ballast tanks and cargo holds is dangerous, costing over 1M€ per vessel and resulting in one death per week. The process is slow, requiring 15 days per vessel and often necessitating travel to distant docks.
An autonomous drone system consisting of three specialized UAS (EUAS, IUAS, TIUAS) and a Decision Support System for 3D mapping and NDT analysis.
If you are a vessel owner dealing with dangerous manual tank inspections—this project developed a fleet of autonomous drones that reduces inspection time from 15 days to 1 day. This shift can lower costs from 1MEUR to 200k€ per vessel.
If you are a repair yard dealing with the risk of worker fatalities in confined spaces—this project developed AI-based scanning and NDT drones that remove human surveyors from harm's way. This prevents the average of one death per week in enclosed marine structures.
If you are an insurer dealing with unreliable manual corrosion reports—this project developed a digital twin system providing 1 cm resolution 3D mapping and 100um NDT analysis. This ensures more accurate structural integrity data for risk assessment.
A typical inspection currently costs over 1M€; the UAS-based inspection is estimated to cost 200k€, saving 800k€ per vessel.
Yes, the project targets the >50k large vessels worldwide, with a potential industry-wide saving of over 9B€ per year.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not provided, but the consortium includes 12 industry partners and 6 universities.
The system includes a User Interface and Decision Support System (UI-DSS) that provides access to all vessel data, including past inspections and historical defect evolution.
The project period runs from 2023-10-01 to 2027-09-30, indicating it is currently in the development and testing phase.
The consortium is heavily industry-driven with a 67% industry ratio (12 companies, including 5 SMEs), which strongly suggests a focus on commercial viability. With 18 partners across 9 countries, the project leverages a broad network of vessel owners and inspectors to ensure the end-to-end solution meets actual market needs.
Contact the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) regarding the AUTOASSESS project.
Contact us to connect with the AUTOASSESS consortium for early adoption pilots.
