Fugro today announced a partnership with the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE to support first round testing of the global, three-year competition, which incentivises development of rapid, unmanned and high resolution ocean mappingtechnologies.
Fugro’s role is to provide high resolution deepwater baseline bathymetry data over a 500 km² competition area. The company has recently collected more than 1 million km² of high resolution bathymetry data per year globally, predominantly in water depths greater than 750 metres.
Capitalising on its deepwater survey expertise, Fugro will acquire the seafloor data using state-of-the-art techniques and equipment, including a deepwater autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with sonar-based survey systems. This information will be used to ground-truth the work of 21 semi-finalist teams advancing to Round 1 of the competition. The challenge for the competing teams is to deploy their inventions to operate at 2,000 metres ocean depth, mapping 20 % of the project site at 5.0 metres resolution, and identifying at least five archaeological, biological or geological features, allwithin a 16-hour timeframe.
“The semi-finalist teams in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE are pushing the envelope of deep sea mapping capabilities, and we are delighted to partner with Fugro on this common goal of mapping the world’s oceans,” said Jyotika Virmani, Ph.D., prize lead and senior director of XPRIZE’s Energy and Environment Group. “Fugro’s global subsea experienceensures that we will have baseline maps of the highest standards, against which the judging panel can compare the data collected by competing teams.”
Given that 85 % of the world’s oceans is yet to be mapped using modern survey techniques, there is a lot of seabed yet to cover. “Fugro is working on a number of fronts to help close this data gap,” said David Millar, Fugro’s director of hydrographic services for the Americas. “Our partnership with the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE is especially exciting, as the competition could result in game-changing technology that will be for the benefit of industry and our understanding of the world’s oceans.”
In addition to increasing the speeds and methods by which baseline bathymetry could be acquired, the competition offers a special $1M incentive sponsored by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for systems that can also detect and track biological and chemical signals. Such advancements would improve emergency response and foster the discovery and monitoring of new marine life and underwater communities.
First round testing for semi-finalist teams is scheduled to commence in September 2017. Fugro will acquire, process and deliver the high resolution baseline datasets in advance.
ABOUT FUGRO
Fugro is the world’s leading, independent provider of geo-intelligence and asset integrity solutions for large constructions, infrastructure and natural resources. We collect data on topography, soil composition and environmental conditions, both onshore and offshore. We organise the acquired data and add value through processing, interpretation and visualisation. In addition, we provide geo-related design, asset inspection and integrity advice. Our services play a critical role in the entire lifecycle of our clients’ construction and infrastructure projects.
Fugro works around the globe, predominantly in energy and infrastructure markets, employing approximately 11,000 employees in around 60 countries. In 2015 Fugro’s revenue amounted to around EUR 2.4 billion. Fugro is listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
ABOUT XPRIZE
XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to solve the world’s grandest challenges. XPRIZE utilizes a unique combination of gamification, crowd-sourcing, incentive prize theory, and exponential technologies as a formula to make 10x (vs. 10 %) impact in the grand challenge domains facing our world.
XPRIZE’s philosophy is that—under the right circumstances— igniting rapid experimentation from a variety of diverse lenses is the most efficient and effective method to driving exponential impact and solutions to grand challenges. The $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE is one of nine active global competitions. For more information, visit http://www.xprize.org