Value proposition

Offshore Robotics for the Certification of Assets

The Offshore Robotics for the Certification of Assets (ORCA) Hub is a research programme developing Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems for the offshore sector.

It brings together five world-class universities - Heriot-Watt University, the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London, the University of Oxford and the University of Liverpool - and over thirty industry partners, who together will revolutionise Asset Integrity Management for cheaper, safer and more efficient production.

Led by the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR), a joint-venture between Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh, the university partners are carrying out research and discovery science, with support from our industry partners, in the following areas:
- Mapping, Surveying & Inspection
- Planning, Control & Manipulation
- Human-Robot Interaction with Explainable AI
- Robot & Asset Self-Certification

Working with industry to develop technology in the field of Robotics, AI and Autonomous Systems, all the way through the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, the hub's mission is to translate research and discovery science into commercial products and services in order to support the UK offshore supply chain and make it the most productive in the world.

Ultimately, the ORCA Hub will support a long-term offshore industry vision for autonomous and semi-autonomous offshore energy fields; operated, inspected and maintained from shore.

Robotics, Autonomous Systems, Data Science, Condition Monitoring, Prognostics, Machine Learning, Probabilistic Modelling, Multimodal and Spoken Interactive Systems, Interaction for Autonomy, Autonomous Agents, Signal Processing, Human-robot Co-operation Through Visual Interfaces, Human-robot Interaction, Data Analytics, Swarm Intelligence, Microsystem Sensors, Subsea Robots, Sonar, Multimodal Interfaces, HRI, Artificial Intelligence, and Validation & Verification