Robot better at
detecting hull weaknesses
A significant percentage of ship losses at sea are caused by hull
damage resulting from metal fatigue and corrosion. The economics of shipping mean that
vessels need to be at sea for most of their life, so locating and rectifying serious hull
defects quickly, while ships are in port, is a key concern for the industry.
Finding a way to detect hull damage, before it becomes critical, is the objective of
the OPTIMISE project. It has developed a magnetic robot that crawls about the hull of a
ship and detects weaknesses. The information supplied by the robot is fed into a database
system, and indicated on a three-dimensional (3D) representation of the ship's structure.
The system provides more accurate data than can be gathered by other means during a
short turnaround time in port. It also improves data acquisition in conditions of poor
accessibility and weather. The project aims to achieve reductions of up to 30 per cent in
ship structural repair costs (after allowing for the setup costs of a more rigorous
maintenance regime), and a 50 per cent reduction in costs for higher quality inspections.
Such savings can extend the safe and economic life of the world's largest ships by up to
The OPTIMISE stand has a compact disc (including video) presentation showing the robot
crawling about and inspecting the hull of a ship. Visitors can also view in 3D the
structure of a vessel and how the analysis modules provide corrosion and crack growth
predictions that can be displayed on the 3D model.