WPNL 202202

Digitalisation & Robots
Determining the feasibility of drone delivery for offshore energy:
Cargo drones to enhance
offshore logistics
On 18 August, in the presence of some invitees and public, a small cargo drone
took off from Den Helder for a test flight to the isle of Texel and back again. This
first drone flight from the mainland to Texel marks an important milestone in the
development and test phase of the “Long Distance Cargo Drone Network”
project, which investigates the deployment of cargo drones to offshore
installations.
The Long Distance Cargo Drone Network
project is an initiative that falls under the
Maritime Drone Initiative (MDI), the
drone cluster of METIP (Maritime
Emerging & Enabling Technologies
Innovation Park) in Den Helder where the
latest and emerging technologies are used
innovatively for maritime, marine and
offshore (energy) applications. With regard
to drones, METIP-MDI looks at how
existing or recently introduced drones can
be applied in certain sectors and for certain
business processes.
As such, the Long Distance Cargo Drone
Delivery project focuses on the
development of cargo drones technology
and its sustainable application for
delivering cargo to offshore installations.
In this drone cluster, METIP collaborates
with main partners AirHub, a Dutch drone
software developer and consultant who
create, among others, ground control apps
and Drone operation centers (DOC) for
drone operations, and DroneQ Robotics,
an Unmanned Robotics Systems Operator
& Integrator based in the Netherlands and
the United Kingdom. The activities range
from in-house development of technology
and optimisation of processes, to
compliance with legislation and
regulations.
Demand driven project
The project originated about two and a
half years ago from the demand of the
offshore community, when METIP and
DroneQ Robotics signed a cooperation
agreement with Energy Reinvented
Community, a platform initiated in 2013
by Shell, Siemens and TNO with the aim
of stimulating cooperation between players
active in the energy industry. Many
offshore players are affiliated with this
platform. Its Digital working group posed
the question to METIP and DroneQ
Robotics how the entire offshore logistics
chain could be optimised, not only in terms
of technology but also in terms of the use
of data. This included the question on how
to further optimise transport of freight to
offshore installations in a most sustainable
and cost-efficient manner, while
guaranteeing safety at all times.
Integration into the
operational processes
DroneQ Robotics has been a core partner
of METIP for more than 2 years, and is the
central coordination partner for the
project. They operate Vertical Take-Off And
Landing airplane (VTOL) drones, supplied
by the German company Phoenix-Wings
GmbH, and equip them with all the
technology needed for offshore application,
including self-developed cameras. John
Troch, one of the founders and managing
director of the company, explains more: ‘
In this project, we are not so much looking
at how we can simply fly from A to B, but
at how we can optimally use drones in the
operational processes and specifically in the
offshore logistics chain. We integrate them
into the operational processes.’
High-priority, high value
goods
To determine how cargo drones can be
integrated optimally in the operational
processes, the project partners first had to
identify where the demand is within
offshore logistics. DHSS, a logistics service
provider also based in Den Helder, turned
out to become an important partner.
DHSS has been a specialist in transporting
people and cargo to offshore installations
for many years. The company made two
years’ worth of data available for analysis:
what is transported to, from and inside
offshore sites, and where are the
opportunities to transport part of the
freight with drones in addition to
helicopters and vessels?
The analysed data showed that cargo
drones are mainly suitable for high-priority,
high-value goods. These include
documents, spare parts, samples and
medicines. For example, when someone
forgot his or her passport, Troch explains.
Drones could provide a more cost effective
alternative here. Troch emphasises that a
drone, however, is not to become a
replacement for a helicopter, it is an
addition. ‘It is all about cooperation. We
need to look at how we can make the
logistics chain more efficient together,’ he
adds.
Social acceptance
Another aspect to look at was human
interaction. What is required, not only from
drone pilots, but also from the people
working with the drone pilots and drones.
Troch: ‘Robots and interaction with robots
will only increase in society. We must learn
to manage the interaction with them. It is a
new technology requiring a cultural
change. This will always be difficult in the
beginning. We need to provide people the
knowledge to work with robots. That is why
we have developed a programme for this.’
Software
For a drone flight to operate smoothly and
safely, more is needed than a drone and
drone pilot. This is where AirHub comes
in. AirHub provided the drone software for
the project which is translated into a digital
operations centre from which you can
practice and plan the flight path and then
view, track and control the drone, and the
surrounding fly zone, in a live environment.
Michiel Froling, Business Development
Manager at AirHub, explains: ‘The flight
path is planned in advance: how are you
going to fly and what possible restrictions
are there in the fly zone? After preparing
the whole flight with AirHub, they use a
flight simulator for practising the flight,
offering the same characteristics as the
drone.
Troch: ‘We can simulate changing weather
conditions such as strong wind, gusts, wind
directions and precipitation. We simulate
the whole flight to see if the parameters
meet our desired plan.’
Back in the AirHub software the flight area
is drawn and the flight path is set within it.
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