Position and attitude monitoring during subsea installation
Attaching expensive sensors directly to piles, conductors, and other subsea structures adds cost and risk to installation work. HaloCAM provides precise pitch, roll, heading, depth, and position from an ROV-mounted sensor, supporting accurate deployment and long-term reliability.
HaloCAM combines an inertial navigation system (INS), a machine vision camera, and onboard processing in a single 266 mm × 150 mm housing rated to 4,000 meters. The self-contained unit provides real-time position and attitude data through a straightforward user interface and is easily deployed on an ROV, providing accurate updates in challenging conditions.
How HaloCAM Works
Mounted on the front of an ROV, HaloCAM uses a high-performance IMU, an HD camera, and onboard machine vision processing to monitor simple fiducial targets placed on the structure.
The system automatically acquires the targets and processes the INS and camera data internally. The ROV maintains a clear line of sight and can operate at a standoff of 2–4 meters while HaloCAM provides consistent updates unaffected by vibration, hammering, or jetting during installation.
Targets can be placed on flat or curved surfaces and dimensionally controlled to the structure. For casing installations, dimensional control can be completed while the casing is horizontal.
Positioning Inputs
HaloCAM’s navigation engine can accept inputs from:
- USBL
- LBL
- DVL
- Depth
- Lines of Position (LoPs)
When the ROV has absolute positioning from USBL, LBL, or LoPs, HaloCAM transfers that reference frame to the structure with the same accuracy. When not being used for structure positioning, HaloCAM functions as a precise subsea INS.
Applications
- Well spudding
- Conductor casing installations
- Offshore wind farm monopiles
- Suction pile installations
Installation and Operational Benefits
By combining inertial navigation with machine vision, HaloCAM improves safety, reduces operational costs, and enhances confidence across oil and gas and offshore wind projects.
Its design reduces the cost and risk of attaching expensive sensors directly to subsea structures. Benefits include:
- Remote operation capability: No specialized personnel required offshore.
- Simple interfacing: A single, self-contained unit.
- No INS-to-camera lever arms to calibrate.
- Straightforward target dimensional control: Targets can be dimensionally controlled to casing while it is horizontal.
- ROV deployment: Suitable for small or work-class ROVs.
Accuracy Heading:
- ±0.15° sec Lat.*
- Pitch and roll: ±0.1°
- Positioning: Same accuracy as USBL/LBL.
Requires dimensional control of the targets to the structure.
Discuss HaloCAM and your subsea installation requirements with our team.