Maritime Technology Innovation Center(MTIC)_Underwater Subsea Cable Magnetic Field Measurement and Image Visualization Search System

With the rapid proliferation of subsea cables across Taiwan’s offshore wind farms, the logistical and operational burden on O&M providers has escalated. Traditional cable verification requires ROVs to perform multiple, time-consuming passes using bulky induction magnetometers.

We has revolutionized this process by integrating a Cesium Optically Pumped Magnetometer (Cs-OPM) into a streamlined, unmanned underwater vehicle platform. This system delivers low-latency detection and extends the effective sensing range to beyond 2 meters, significantly mitigating the risk of ROV-seabed collisions. By combining distance sensor data with Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations, the system reconstructs the cable’s magnetic field profile in real-time, allowing operators to identify cable location and burial depth without the cognitive load of interpreting raw magnetic values.

Key Technical Features

Optimized Magnetic Signal Denoising: The system features enhanced sampling rates and advanced noise reduction algorithms. This optimization significantly improves the clarity and stability of cable magnetic signals, ensuring high-fidelity data even in challenging underwater environments.

Advanced Burial Depth (DOB) Sensing & Collision Avoidance: Validated through rigorous test tank simulations, the system can detect magnetic field variations of buried cables at a total underwater distance of 4.2 meters. This breakthrough allows O&M vehicles to maintain a safer standoff distance while ensuring precise cable tracking, effectively reducing the risk of collisions between the vehicle and the seabed.

Intelligent Cable Identification & Measurement: The platform integrates pixel-level bounding box recognition for cable characteristics. Both the pixel overlap rate and visual identification accuracy have been verified to meet commercial-grade standards, providing reliable automated support for subsea inspections.

Proactive Cable Displacement Early-Warning System: By establishing historical baseline comparison models, the system forms an intelligent early-warning safety net. This transitions subsea maintenance from reactive detection to proactive warning, allowing operators to identify subtle shifts in cable position or burial status before failures occur, ensuring the long-term integrity of the offshore grid.

Real-Time Monitoring & Analytical Processing: Powered by high-speed onboard algorithms, the system provides instantaneous data processing and visualization. This real-time analytical capability significantly enhances decision-making efficiency for offshore teams during critical inspection missions.

Image Enhancement Processor

Underwater image enhancement is a sophisticated processing technique designed to improve visual quality, making imagery clearer and more suitable for analysis. In challenging subsea environments, our technology focuses on enhancing critical details, increasing contrast, and suppressing noise to compensate for image distortion caused by light scattering and absorption.

Proprietary Algorithmic Architecture: A robust image enhancement framework tailored for high-turbidity marine environments. The multi-stage processing pipeline includes: Color Calibration: Initial processing through White Balance adjustments to correct underwater color shifts. Dynamic Quantification: Utilizing Laplacian Variance and Color Cast Index (CCI) to quantify color distribution and image sharpness. Intelligent Dehazing: Applying Dark Channel Prior (DCP) to calculate the transmission rate of the medium, effectively removing "fog" (backscatter) and restoring fine structural details.

Support Issues
Image Format	MJPG
Core Processing	Image White Balance, Dark Channel Calculation, Brightness Compensation, Color Compensation, Detail Correction

Considering the payload requirements of underwater vehicles, this product's power demand can integrate with most internal ROV power supply specifications, and its dimensions are designed to fit inside an ROV.

This product can be mounted on unmanned underwater vehicles. After image processing, data is transmitted to the onshore human-machine interface via communication cables. Image thresholds can be adjusted according to different water turbidity levels to enhance image transmission performance.

Strategic Value & Application Expansion

Our magnetic detection logic is designed to be scalable. As Taiwan’s marine economy grows, this technology serves as the foundation for monitoring any subsea infrastructure that generates magnetic signatures.

⚓

Offshore Wind O&M

Monitoring cable displacement and burial depth to prevent damage, reduce downtime, and ensure grid stability.

🛢️

Energy Infrastructure Security

Routine inspection of subsea oil and gas pipelines to guarantee secure energy transport.

🛡️

Subsea Critical Infrastructure Protection (SCIP)

Monitoring sensitive subsea installations to enhance national security and infrastructure resilience.

🌐

Telecommunications Resilience

Maintenance and protection of subsea fiber-optic cables, the backbone of international data transmission and digital connectivity.