Completion of Geotechnical Package for CRD100

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has completed a Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT) system with outrigger legs for Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Co., Ltd. to be used with the CRD100 seafloor drill delivered in 2014.

The CRD100 standard landing legs are designed for hard ground, which is typically found in areas for mineral exploration.  Geotechnical CPT work is typically done in softer ground conditions, so the current leveling legs and feet will not provide sufficient force to level the drill.  Two concepts have been developed for different ground conditions:

• For medium strength soil, larger feet can be added to the current landing legs to increase the surface area
• For soft ground conditions, Cellula has developed a set of hydraulic outrigger legs that are fitted in place of the current landing legs. A water injection system is also included on the underside of each outrigger pad.  Water injection is used to break suction under the pads when the drill is recovered.

The CPT package uses an acoustic modem to transmit data from the CPT cone to the CRD100 in real-time.  The data is then processed with the depth of push information is added.  This data is transmitted up the fiber optic umbilical to the operator in the control van and displayed using a dedicated CPT software package.

Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co., Ltd. (FSM), headquartered in Osaka, Japan is involved in marine salvage, steel structure installation, offshore engineering, and other infrastructural improvement projects. FSM is currently introducing deep-sea research equipment and other cutting-edge assets to a fleet of six offshore support vessels to aggressively tackle ocean development projects. For more information, please visit the FSM website.

CRD100 Delivered After Successful Factory Acceptance Testing

Cellula Robotics Ltd. successfully completed factory acceptance testing of its third CRD100 seafloor drill, which is for Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Ltd. Co. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).

The CRD100 is a fourth generation seafloor drill designed to operate in waters down to 3000m depth for geotechnical surveys, mineral exploration and methane gas hydrates sampling.

Built on proven subsystems, the CRD100 is self-contained with a 100 HP power pack.   The CRD100 provides an unprecedented level of intelligent control that facilitates efficient core sampling and CPT pushes.  A wireline tool system further enhances the speed of operation.  The JAMSTEC CRD100 includes “size H” tooling and also supports optional tools for surface sampling (T146) and large cased boreholes.

The drill underwent factory acceptance testing at Cellula’s Burnaby facility as well as in local waters. Sea trials will take place in February, 2017.

Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co., Ltd. (FSM), headquartered in Osaka, Japan is involved marine salvage, steel structure installation, offshore engineering, and other infrastructural improvement projects. FSM is currently introducing deep-sea research equipment and other cutting-edge assets to a fleet of six offshore support vessels to aggressively tackle ocean development projects. For more information, please visit the FSM website.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world’s leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 3,349.5 billion yen in fiscal 2013, the year ended March 31, 2014. MHI’s diverse lineup of products and services encompasses four business domains, “Energy & Environment”, “Commercial Aviation & Transportation Systems”, “Integrated Defense & Space Systems” and “Machinery, Equipment & Infrastructure.” For more information, please visit the MHI website.

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is an independent administrative institution whose main objective is to contribute to the advancement of academic research in addition to the improvement of marine science and technology. For more information, please visit the JAMSTEC website. 

Cellula at Underwater Mining Conference 2016

Cellula’s Hydraulic Systems Engineer, Reuben Meikle, will be attending the 45th Underwater Mining Conference along with our international agent, Oceantech, from October 9 through 13, 2016.

This conference will explore resource and environmental assessments for seafloor mineral development, with a focus on deep-sea projects. For more information, please visit the Underwater Mining Conference website. 

Cellula Featured in Sea Technology Magazine

Cellula Robotics is featured in the September issue of Sea Technology!

Check out the article, “CRD100 Seafloor Geotechnical Drill: Designing an Integrated System Beyond ROV ‘Tooling Package” on pages 10-14. Authors, Eric Jackson (Cellula President), Derek White (General Manager of SGSI) and Allan Spencer (Managing Director of Cellula U.K.) talk about the exciting advantages of deep water exploration using the CRD100.

Serdar Soylu at Oceans ’16

Serdar Soylu will be presenting his paper, “Automation of CRD100 Seafloor Drill”, at the Oceans ’16 conference in Monterrey, California, September 19-22.

Cellula Awarded Contract to Build Add-Ons for CRD100

Vancouver, Canada, 9th August 2016, Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has been awarded a contract with Fukada Salvage & Marine Works Co., Ltd. to build a Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT) system with outrigger legs for the CRD100 seafloor drill delivered in 2014.

The CRD100 standard landing legs are designed for hard ground, which is typically found in areas for mineral exploration.  Geotechnical CPT work is typically done in softer ground conditions, so the current leveling legs and feet will not provide sufficient force to level the drill.  Two concepts have been developed for different ground conditions:

• For medium strength soil, larger feet can be added to the current landing legs to increase the surface area
• For soft ground conditions, Cellula has developed a set of hydraulic outrigger legs that are fitted in place of the current landing legs. A water injection system is also included on the underside of each outrigger pad.  Water injection is used to break suction under the pads when the drill is recovered.

The CPT package uses an acoustic modem to transmit data from the CPT cone to the CRD100 in real-time.  The data is then processed with the depth of push information is added.  This data is transmitted up the fiber optic umbilical to the operator in the control van and displayed using a dedicated CPT software package.

Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co., Ltd. (FSM), headquartered in Osaka, Japan is involved marine salvage, steel structure installation, offshore engineering, and other infrastructural improvement projects. FSM is currently introducing deep-sea research equipment and other cutting-edge assets to a fleet of six offshore support vessels to aggressively tackle ocean development projects. For more information, please visit the FSM website.

Suction Sampler Delivered to Schmidt Ocean Institute

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has delivered an environmental suction sampler, valve pack, and hydraulic reservoir to Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI).

They have been integrated onto SOI’s S5K HROV which is undergoing sea trials off of the coast of Guam. For more information, see the press release in Marine Technology News.

Cellula Awarded New Contract with Schmidt Ocean Institute

Cellula Robotics Ltd. (Cellula) has been awarded a contract with Schmidt Ocean Institute to configure, manufacture, and test a ROV based suction sampler for integration on the S5K HROV.

Building on the success and experience gained during previous subsea water sampling projects, such as the Cetor3000 plankton sampler, and other hydraulic projects, Cellula has the expertise, facilities, processes, and Quality Management System (QMS) to successfully deliver this project to Schmidt Ocean.

The sampler is due to be delivered July, 2016.

Cellula Robotics at OTC

Peter Hampton will be presenting “Improvements and Capabilities of the CRD100 Subsea Robotic Drilling Platform”, P.J. Hampton, S. Soylu, T. Crees, E. Jackson, Cellula Robotics Ltd. at the Ocean Technology Conference (OTC)  running May 2-5 in Houston, TX.

The presentation will take place at 16:12 on May 3 as part of the New Developments in Offshore Mining category. For more information on this and other presentations at OTC, visit the OTC events page.

Cellula at Deep Sea Mining Summit

Business Development Manager, Allan Spencer, from Cellula UK will be presenting at the Deep Sea Mining Summit in London, UK May 23-24. The topic of his presentation will be the CRD100 Subsea Drill.

The Deep Sea Mining Summit 2016 will bring together a large array of solution providers, upcoming deep sea miners, members from the scientific community, and those within allied industries wanting to learn more about the opportunities within this emerging marketplace. It will be an opportunity for professionals engaged in relevant disciplines to report on their accomplishments and to exchange views. Presentations that focus on the challenges facing the deep sea mining sector, in particular, an update on recent technological and technical developments are most welcomed, along with other relevant topics of timely interest.