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Project

JIRo

Joint Inspection Robot

  • Duration:

The project JIRo is a joint venture of Shell Brasil and the Brazilian Institute for Robotics (BIR), which is a cooperation between the Brazilian center for education, technology and education SENAI CIMATEC and the Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). JIRo is about a robotic solution for the cleaning and inspection of flexible underwater joints on Floating Production Storage and Offloading units (FPSO).

The JIRo system can be deployed with the help of a remote-controlled underwater vehicle of the category “work class” and is equipped with cleaning tools for the removal of marine growth as well as high-resolution sensors for the automated visual and textural inspection. The aim of the project is to make underwater inspection measures more efficient while reducing safety risks and costs.

The Brazilian project JIRo is part of a unique cooperation supported by Shell Brasil through the Research and Development clause of the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuel (ANP) together with support from the Brazilian Company for Industrial Research and Innovation (EMBRAPII) and SENAI CIMATEC.

Partners

SENAI Cimatec, BIR, Shell Brasil

Sponsors

SENAI Cimatec

Images

© Marius Wirtz

JIRo system, a composition of a commercial ROV and the JIRo tool.

© Marius Wirtz

The JIRo system approaching a mock-up of a flexible joint during an experiment in the big basin of the Maritime Exploration Hall.

© Marius Wirtz

The JIRo system during deployment, clamped to the mock-up.

© Marius Wirtz

The JIRo tool scanning the target.

© Marius Wirtz

Demonstaration of the cleaning procedure.

Videos