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3-Direct

Fugro's 3Direct® technology offers a safe method of monitoring offshore structural installation in real time. It is fully remote and requires no tracking equipment to be installed on the structure.

In the past, installing structures offshore meant installing and then removing various tracking sensors (gyro, GNSS, prisms etc.) on the structures to be installed. This was to enable installation vessels and operators to know where jackets and monopiles were and how they were orientated during installation. But having personnel entering jackets and other offshore installations is complicated, time consuming, and most important -it poses an HSE risk, especially in poor weather conditions or when working at height. 

3Direct removes the need to install sensors on the actual structure. It tracks the structure's position and orientation from a safe, but convenient distance away. This is enabled by real-time computer-vision algorithms and a motion-compensated camera-sensor cleverly integrated into a state-of-the-art machine-vision tracking-system for offshore survey.

3Direct® is based on state-of-the-art  computer vision and machine vision methods the enable the tracking of features and objects that make up a structure (e.g. a jacket). 

The method makes use of information contained in engineering drawings of the structure to track and calculate its position and orientation in real time from a live video stream.

One or more cameras are used to create a wide angle view across the structure from the deck of the installation vessel. Each camera is equipped with a motion sensor that compensates for vessel motion. 

The position, heading, and pitch & roll of the monopile or jacket is accurately calculated in real time using advanced vision-based technology. The data is integrated, processed and reported in Fugro’s Starfix.NG software, enabling continuous hands-off operation through the placement.

Fugro is a company built on technical innovation; 3Direct® is the latest in a long line of pioneering solutions designed to improve performance, efficiency and safety.

The system offers a number of benefits over conventional methods of tracking and monitoring the structural installation process offshore.

  • Greatly reduced HSE risk, thanks to no personnel needing to enter or scale the structure to install tracking equipment
  • No downtime caused by the need to stop and survey the structure; information is available continuously throughout the installation process
  • Faster installations, thanks to real-time monitoring enabling precise adjustments and first time right placement
  • Data logging, time-stamped imagery, reporting and visualisation improve traceability
  • Easy to transport, set up and use - 3Direct makes tracking the installation process simple and uncomplicated.

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Download 3Direct Brochure