Copenhagen Subsea, a developer of underwater propulsion technologies, has announced the launch of the Gorilla Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), designed to operate in challenging subsea environments for the offshore industry. Featuring intelligent state-of-the-art dynamic positioning (DP) technology, the ROV incorporates the company’s rim-driven thruster technology, as well as standard electronic components from electronics supplier OMRON for easy maintenance.
Measuring 1.5 x 1 metres and capable of diving down to 600 metres, the Gorilla ROV is ideal for offshore inspection of drilling platforms, wind turbines and more. It carries up to 70 kg and has an intuitive payload interface with a power supply and separate fiber cable connection, dedicated to customer-specific requirements. The system also features automatic control of position, depth, altitude, heading, pitch and roll, as well as the ability to sense the seafloor from up to 70 meters above.
Copenhagen Subsea’s decision to integrate standard industrial hardware electronics that have undergone extremely thorough testing is a critical differentiator for the Gorilla’s reliability. These standard components are highly durable even in extreme environments and are always in stock allowing for rapid delivery and simplified maintenance.
Allan Nygård Berthelsen, Copenhagen Subsea CEO, commented: “Often customers ask us if we can mount our electric thrusters on their existing subsea vehicles. Such retrofitting is relatively expensive, because electronics often must be replaced too. That’s why we decided to develop a complete solution from scratch in the form of an ROV optimized for such customer needs.”
“Reliability has been our highest priority throughout the design and development phase. By combining our existing electric thrusters with OMRON’s industrial components, we have built a vehicle that ensures the utmost operational reliability, allowing our customers to execute their tasks on time, to budget and safely, and with no need for divers in the water.”
“The Gorilla builds on the success of our original thrusters, which we already sell all over the world, and have global ambitions for this ROV too. We expect a significant market among operators who need to perform technically challenging offshore work, in conditions that are always tough and can change rapidly.”
Per Pilegaard, Country Manager, OMRON (Denmark), stated: “We at OMRON are proud of our involvement in the state-of-the-art Gorilla ROV from Copenhagen Subsea. Our components are designed for longevity in extreme environments and thus complement and enhance the robustness of the Gorilla, providing it with a critical differentiating factor compared with other ROVs. Our involvement with the Gorilla demonstrates that OMRON parts have the potential to make sophisticated machinery even more robust and easy to maintain in tough conditions.”
