Lattice Neptune
Navigation correction and information recovery for autonomous underwater patrols
Lattice Neptune uses magnetic communications to connect installed subsea devices with passing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The devices act as fixed beacons, enabling AUVs to correct their navigation and recover monitoring information while staying submerged and on mission.
Vessel campaigns cannot provide persistent underwater access. Lattice Neptune gives operators a practical way to inspect subsea more frequently at lower risk and lower cost, with improved repeatability and quality of information.
Installed Lattice devices support AUV patrol, INS correction, information recovery and repeat inspection. AUVs can return to known locations, recover information from Lattice devices and build comparable records over time.
The installed network can include asset-integrity, corrosion-protection, environmental, passive-acoustic and ADCP/current sensors where configured. Typical measurements include fatigue, movement, corrosion/CP, temperature, pressure, conductivity, underwater acoustic activity and local current behaviour.
Customer value
More frequent underwater access. Better inspection records. Local sensor evidence. Lower reliance on vessel campaigns. Stronger support for intervention, security review and follow-up action.
OIS supplies Lattice devices, integration, mission support and information services. Through the Stay-on-Mission programme, participants can help define operating requirements, trial objectives and how the system will be deployed.
Core magnetic communications and edge processing have been demonstrated. Stay-on-Mission will test the integrated system for AUV navigation correction and recovery of monitoring information while the vehicle remains submerged and on mission.
Autonomous patrols along subsea cable routes
Lattice Neptune enables AUVs to patrol along subsea cable routes while remaining submerged. Fixed Lattice devices provide navigation references and information-recovery points.
Devices can be spaced 3–5 km apart along the route. As an AUV passes a device, it can correct inertial-navigation drift and recover monitoring information without a vessel campaign.
Persistent monitoring: Installed Lattice devices monitor asset condition and the surrounding environment, processing and storing information locally.
Navigation correction: Fixed seabed beacons allow passing AUVs to correct drift in their inertial navigation systems and continue their patrol.
Information recovery: AUVs collect monitoring information from installed devices through magnetic communications while remaining submerged.
Inspection and follow-up: Monitoring information and AUV inspection findings help operators identify changes and prioritise maintenance or further investigation.
Applications:
Subsea power and data cables
- Interconnectors
- Pipelines and flowlines
- Offshore wind infrastructure and cable routes
- Cable landing zones, ports and harbour approaches
- Strategic seabed corridors and territorial waters
- Defined security patrol areas
Sensor payloads where configured
- Movement, vibration and fatigue
- Corrosion-protection / CP condition
- Temperature, pressure and conductivity
- Passive acoustic activity
- ADCP and local water currents
- Environmental and water-quality measurements