January 17, 2020

Full scale testing next phase

Svein Harald Hetland, Technical Authority Lifting, Aker BP, labels the autonomous crane control system developed by Optilift and Aker BP as “very promising”, and says the system “need to be tested at full scale as a next phase”.

The functionalities of the autonomous crane control system was successfully demonstrated in an in-house environment at the Aker BP Headquarters in Stavanger last December.

– Our future focus will be to run full scale tests of the system in live outdoor environments, as a necessary step to move closer to implementing a fully functional autonomous crane control system, he says.

Auto-hook minimum breaking capacity: 300 tonnes

One of the key features of the remote crane control system is the Aker BP-developed «auto-hook» system, which automatically connects and disconnects cargo carrying units (CCU) to the crane without human intervention.

– We are now refining our auto-hook system, which is set to endure lifts of up to 300 tonnes during overload testing. Our goal is to perform lifts of up to SWL 60 tonnes safely offshore.

The live environment testing will see software updates implemented continuously throughout the phase.

– The anti-pendulum function, as well as our soft-landing function and several others need to be tested properly, and in turn. These functionalities will be phased in accordingly when fully tested.

Safe and efficient

Hetland labels the autonomous crane control system «safe and efficient».

– With this crane control system human interaction is removed from potentially dangerous lifting situations. This will increase the focus on HSE and personnel safety and create more efficient crane and logistics operations.