remote sensing Review Underwater Survey for Oil and Gas Industry: A Review of Close Range Optical Methods Bertrand Chemisky 1,*, Fabio Menna 2 , Erica Nocerino 1 and Pierre Drap 1 1 LIS UMR 7020, Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Université De Toulon, 13397 Marseille, France;
[email protected] (E.N.);
[email protected] (P.D.) 2 3D Optical Metrology (3DOM) Unit, Bruno Kessler Foundation (FBK), Via Sommarive 18, 38123 Trento, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: In both the industrial and scientific fields, the need for very high-resolution cartographic data is constantly increasing. With the aging of offshore subsea assets, it is very important to plan and maintain the longevity of structures, equipment, and systems. Inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) of subsea structures are key components of an overall integrity management system that aims to reduce the risk of failure and extend the life of installations. The acquisition of very detailed data during the inspection phase is a technological challenge, especially since offshore installations are sometimes deployed in extreme conditions (e.g., depth, hydrodynamics, visibility). After a review of high resolution mapping techniques for underwater environment, this article will focus on optical sensors that can satisfy the requirements of the offshore industry by assessing their relevance and degree of maturity. These requirements concern the resolution and accuracy but also cost, ease of implementation, and qualification. With the evolution of embedded computing resources, in-vehicle optical survey solutions are becoming increasingly important in the landscape of large-scale mapping solutions and more and more off-the-shelf systems are now available.