At the end of the month of August 2022 we achieve to undertake the first trials of the Autonomous Superficial Vehicle (ASV) ITSASDRONE developed by AZTI in the BiMEP Biscay Marine Energy Platform. These trials were done around the HarshLab infrastructure of TECNALIA Offshore Renewable Energy in BiMEP taking into account that the wave energy device of WelloOy was removed from BiMEP in December 2021.
Since summer 2021 we have been working hard in collaboration with BRANKA to update and make operative the ITSASDRONE. As we explained in a previous post, ITSASDRONE is an autonomous sea surface drone for long term missions on the sea surface (3 months or more), capable of carrying out different tasks operating autonomously, by means of an automated remote control with radio or satellite communication. It is a drone that operates 100% on renewable energy in the marine environment and with a zero-emission propulsion system. The applications of the drone may range from oceanographic, meteorological, or biological research to control by marine authorities, including target monitoring. The echo sounder of integrated in the ITSASDRONE can collect and store accurate acoustic backscattering data that can be post-processed and replayed.
ITSASDRONE will be used in BiMEP to monitor the potential reef effect of the presence of structures in the surface of the water, such as wave energy harnessing devices. During the operation phase, in general, the placement of any artefact in the sea can result in an attracting effect on fish communities, especially if it is floating.
