System and method for using autonomous underwater vehicles for ocean bottom seismic nodes

A method for the deployment of a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes on or near the seabed, comprising

• deploying an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) from a back deck of a marine surface vessel, wherein the AUV is coupled to a node skid comprising a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes;
• automatically locating a pre-plot position for each of the plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes;
• automatically positioning the AUV proximate to the pre-plot position;
• automatically deploying a selected one of the plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes at the pre-plot position;
• automatically recording a touchdown position of the deployed seismic node;
• and
• automatically adjusting a buoyancy of the node skid based on a node payload of the node skid to maintain a substantially neutral buoyancy in water.

A method for the recovery of a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes from the seabed, comprising

• positioning an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) near the seabed, wherein the AUV is coupled to a node skid configured to hold a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes;
• automatically locating a seabed position for each of the plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes;
• automatically positioning the AUV proximate to the seabed position for each of the plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes;
• automatically recovering each of the plurality of seismic nodes into the node skid by a manipulator arm;
• and
• automatically adjusting a buoyancy of the node skid based on a node payload of the node skid to maintain a substantially neutral buoyancy in water.

A method for recovery of a dead autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) from on or near the seabed, comprising

• deploying a garage from a back deck of a marine surface vessel at a position proximate to the seabed;
• deploying an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) from the back deck of the marine surface vessel;
• positioning the UUV near the dead AUV;
• coupling the UUV to the dead AUV;
• coupling the dead AUV to the garage;
• and
• raising the garage to the back deck of the marine surface vessel with the coupled dead AUV.

A method for imaging the seabed, comprising

• positioning an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) near the seabed, wherein the AUV comprises a power source, a plurality of thrusters, and a plurality of cameras;
• scanning the seabed by utilizing stereo photogrammetry based on one or more camera images obtained by the plurality of cameras;
• imaging the seabed by utilizing point cloud recognition;
• and
• identifying objects on the seabed by using a neural network based on the one or more camera images.

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the subsea transfer of a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes, comprising

• a power source;
• a propulsion system configured to propel and steer the AUV while travelling underwater, wherein the propulsion system comprises a plurality of thrusters;
• and
• a variable buoyancy system (VBS) configured to control a buoyancy of the AUV based on a payload of the AUV,
• wherein the AUV is configured to hold a plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes,
• wherein the AUV is configured to move each of the plurality of ocean bottom seismic nodes to and from the seabed by a manipulator arm.