EIVA and Tuco Marine Partner on New Autonomous Subsea Survey System

7 January 2025

ViperFish ROTV sensor platform towed by ProZero 8 m Naval Intelligence USV. (Image credit: EIVA)

A new partnership between maritime technology specialists EIVA and Tuco Marine will provide integrated autonomous systems for inspecting subsea assets, such as cables transporting renewable energy.

EIVA, a developer of software and equipment for surveying below the water’s surface, and Tuco Marine, producers of unmanned surface vessels (USVs), have announced they are now working together to provide an integrated system solution.

ViperFish ROTV and ProZero 8 m Naval Intelligence USV—overlaid with a screenshot of the Flight software, which controls the ViperFish position with horizontal and vertical steering. (Image credit: EIVA)

The ProZero 8 m Naval Intelligence USV by Tuco Marine sails to an area of interest and launches the remotely operated towed vehicle (ROTV) ViperFish by EIVA. ViperFish is a sensor platform for high-resolution seabed imaging, as well as mapping depth and magnetic signals to monitor subsea assets.

“Leveraging the complementary nature of our technologies, EIVA is looking forward to working with Tuco Marine to offer the market a solution that we see a lot of demand for—a fully integrated system to autonomously survey subsea assets,” explained Christian Thomsen, CEO at EIVA.

“By combining a USV, like our ProZero, together with EIVA’s ROTV sensor platform and survey software, it’s possible to monitor the conditions of critical subsea infrastructure much more thoroughly and frequently than with conventional setups,” added Managing Director Jonas Pedersen from Tuco Marine.

Ensuring Integration of Technologies

A deciding factor for the safety and efficiency of autonomous systems is that all parts must not only be reliable on their own but also work well together through integration. Both EIVA and Tuco Marine have the internal competencies needed to achieve this, as the companies are highly experienced in developing tailored solutions.

In addition, their technologies are well-proven within both maritime and defense industries. For example, EIVA’s sensor platform ScanFish is among the most used solutions worldwide for UXO surveys, while their ViperFish, launched in 2023, is designed for autonomous USV systems based on customer inputs. Tuco Marine has delivered their reliable ProZero vessels for use in offshore wind farms, environmental surveys, defense, and aquaculture.

ViperFish ROTV payload. (Image credit: EIVA)

The quality of data delivered with this system also benefits from positioning and imaging sensor technologies thanks to strong partnerships within the international Covelya Group. EIVA’s sister companies in this group include sensor providers Sonardyne and Wavefront Systems, as well as Forcys, which provides defense expertise for customers seeking to deploy this technology for mine countermeasures, rapid environment assessment and more.