Oi24 Brings Technology to Life with Expanded Dockside Demos

Attendees at this year’s Oceanology International (Oi24) will have the opportunity to view the latest marine technology in action at an expanded Dockside Demonstrations feature, set on the quayside of the historic Royal Victoria Dock at London’s ExCeL.

Offering close scrutiny of the cutting-edge equipment, experts from the industry’s leading companies will conduct live demonstrations to showcase the vehicle, imaging, sonar and instrumentation technologies of the future.

The Dockside Demos at Oi24 will feature even more brands and vessels than previous events, affirming the rapid rate of technology development, innovation and new launches across ocean-based sectors as demand for advanced solutions in the blue tech and energy transition markets increases.

Highlights include Blueye Robotics’ live demonstrations of the Blueye X3 ROV, a handy, powerful vehicle for underwater operations weighing only 9 kg. Fitted with three guest ports supporting eight different communication protocols, the unit has up to five hours’ range and can dive down to 300 m, with four 350 W thrusters powering the vehicle up to three knots underwater.

Leading the demonstration is Blueye’s Petter Sjursen, who said: “Our dockside demo will demonstrate the different capabilities of the new X3 unit. As an attendee, you'll be able to test the vehicle yourself and feel in real life how easy it is to use and why no prior ROV experience is needed to succeed.”

Hydrographic sonar systems company R3Vox will introduce the revolutionary Voxometer^®, the only MA3^® Multi-Aspect Hydrospatial Survey System. Powered by multiple new patented technologies which measure voxels, this all-in-one system reduces the complexity of survey operations and simultaneously collects high-quality data.

Veronique van Niekerk, Marketing Manager, R3Vox, added: “We will be demonstrating the new Voxometer survey system in the water for the first time at Oi. The Voxometer is a revolutionary new mapping sonar that is set to disrupt the hydrographic survey industry. The demonstrations take place over the three days of Oi24, aboard the MV Maplin.”

Key Oi exhibitor Teledyne Marine is partnering up with GeoSight to provide on-water demonstrations of the SeaBat T51-R multibeam echosounder on survey vessel Brunel. Brunel is equipped with a SeaBat T51-R, Teledyne Odom E20 singlebeam echosounder, Teledyne RDI Workhorse ADCP, and GNSS INS for permanent mobilization.

Teledyne reports that attendees will be able to witness the superior data quality from the SeaBat T51 operating at 800 kHz with the smallest receiver beamwidth and full swath coverage. Oi24 will also be the first opportunity to see the revolutionary new feature Vertical Detection Mode in action, producing the best possible data along quay walls in multi-path rich environments. Additionally, Teledyne will showcase automated features that enable the multibeam to operate independently.

With the vessel Xplorer, Kongsberg Discovery will provide demonstrations of the new EM 2042 Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) system and the Seapath 385 Heading, Attitude and Positioning System. The EM 2042 offers the option to have the RX with an embedded motion sensor from the same manufacturer as the MBES. It is the only shallow water MBES system that has three transmitting sectors within the same housing, enabling true multi transmit and real-time stabilization of roll, pitch and yaw as standard, and is also the first shallow water MBES system that has Dual Swath (2048 soundings per ping) as standard for a Single RX system.

Klein Marine Systems is partnering with Applied Acoustic Engineering (AAE) and Briggs Marine to demonstrate the new Klein 4K-MAX together with AAE’s Easytrak Pyxis INS and USBL positioning system. During the demos onboard SV Solent Guardian, the AAE USBL and vessel positioning will input into the Klein TPU to ensure robust underwater towfish positioning. HYPACK will be displayed on a separate monitor to display the background aerial imagery, vessel and towfish positions and generate a real-time 600kHz mosaic of the side scan sonar data. SonarPro will be displayed on a 90° rotated TV screen and HYPACK displayed on another TV.

CHCNAV will demonstrate the APACHE 4 USV with HQ-400 portable multibeam system and River Star series ADCP. Compact and easy to handle, the USV offers an unmanned operation solution with a shallow draft, high navigational accuracy and stable hovering for hydrologists when measuring waterflow velocity and discharge of a current section.

Jaia Robotics will showcase the JaiaBot-HYDRO pod, an autonomous, micro-sized multi-vehicle system that rapidly collects synoptic data in coastal, surf zone, estuaries, rivers and lakes. The capabilities of the newest product, the JaiaBot-HYDRO for acoustic monitoring will also be introduced at Oi.

Port of London Authority-piloted Thame returns to the Oi dockside, showcasing its capabilities and state-of-the-art technology. NORBIT Subsea, a specialist in ultra-compact wideband multibeam sonars for subsea- and surface platforms globally for applications in the hydrographic, security, energy and dredging markets, will be aboard Thame, alongside the PLA team, showcasing the motion stabilized WINGHEAD i80S, an ultra high-resolution bathymetric multibeam system.

Another regular visitor to Oi is Kommandoren, a 130-year-old trading vessel fitted with sails. This year, attendees can board the ship, take a tour and meet the team from Hays Ships, owner and operator of a small fleet of survey and research vessels offering bespoke solutions for offshore applications.

Additional participating companies at the dockside include Ocean Power Technology, Maritime Robotics, Safeen Survey, Seafloor Systems, Evologics and BeeX Autonomous Systems.

David Ince, Oceanology International Portfolio Director, said: “The Dockside Demos is one of the features which sets Oi apart from other events. The Royal Victoria Dock at London’s ExCeL is the perfect venue to host these exciting, live demonstrations, which really enhance the visitor experience by delivering a first-hand, up-close experience of the latest technology. We are pleased to expand the feature this year to cater for the increased number of exhibitors needing the live element to capture the capabilities of their equipment. This array of new launches is a positive theme reflected throughout Oi24, across the many activities on the exhibition floor and in the varied content of the conference program.”

Oceanology International, and its co-located event OceanICT, takes place at London’s ExCeL from March 12–14, 2024, this year and is expected to bring 7,500+ attendees and 450+ exhibitors from 80+ countries, with 100+ companies expected to conduct product or service launch activity in 2024. Thousands of international industry buyers, influencers, and professionals will come together once again for the chance to benefit from the unparalleled global marketplace, forum and networking opportunity.

The Dockside Demos at Oi24 take place on the Royal Victoria Dock. Viewing platforms and micro theatres enhance the visitor experience, while the operators are on hand to provide more information. View the participating vessels and companies here, with a daily schedule available here.

Visitors can register for Oi24 here. To stay updated on Oceanology International 2024, please visit the Oi24 website.