AUV-Based Underwater Electromagnetic Field Survey System: Development and Field Tests
Year: 2026
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Subsea power cables are critical infrastructures for offshore energy transmission and telecommunications. Their integrity directly impacts operational reliability and environmental safety. Traditional inspection approaches are limited by operational costs, reduced accessibility, and environmental constraints. Although electromagnetic fields (EMF) emitted by subsea cables have been extensively studied in the context of interactions with marine life, the potential for their inspection and monitoring remains underexplored. This paper presents the development and field validation of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)-based electromagnetic survey system developed within the SUBSEACAM project. A hybrid AUV (EVA) was equipped with a dual three-axis magnetic gradiometer payload mounted on a non-magnetic structure and integrated with onboard processing electronics. Field trials were conducted at the test site in Aguçadoura, Portugal, where multiple survey trajectories were executed at varying depths, speeds, and crossing angles. Preliminary results demonstrate consistent magnetic signature detection of subsea cables and confirm the robustness of the integrated sensing platform under operational conditions. Ongoing work includes electric field sensing integration and advanced signal processing for enhanced anomaly detection.
Authors: Pedro Guedes, Carlos Almeida, Alfredo Martins, Bruno Matias, Ricardo Pereira, Pedro Silva, Guilherme Morais, André Almeida, Eduardo Soares, Paula Lima, Rodrigo Morais, Wu Di, Tang Yuanjie, Holger Hunh, Wan Ming, Zeng Wei, Miguel Brito, Francisco Branco, Carlos Pinho, Eduardo Silva, José Almeida
Institution: INESC TEC
Language: English
Subfield: Ocean Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7201862014