RIVEAL: Rapid Inspection & Visual Evaluation
RIVEAL is Oceanit’s advanced, surface intelligence AI platform for the rapid inspection of surfaces and complex geometries. It uses machine vision analysis to assess surface data with unparalleled accuracy.
RIVEAL has applications across various sectors, including energy, defense, aviation, and infrastructure. By leveraging AI, it streamlines critical procedures such as inspection, maintenance, surface preparation, and repair. The system evaluates a wide array of surfaces, such as roads, aircraft wings and components, pipelines, and more. RIVEAL’s machine vision identifies surface defects and anomalies, flagging problematic areas to allow operators and maintenance crews to focus only on locations that require intervention.
RIVEAL often integrates with cyber-physical systems, such as intelligent pipeline inspection gauges (PIGs) or robotic arm systems. This integration expands the capabilities of these systems, making their operations faster, more efficient, and comprehensive.
Application in Surface Treatments
One of RIVEAL’s key applications is providing surface intelligence for coatings or treatments, such as Oceanit’s HeatX, DragX, or HydroPel nanocomposites. The platform evaluates whether a surface is adequately prepared for application by detecting issues like corrosion, fouling, debris buildup, erosion, and fractures. Post-treatment, RIVEAL ensures quality control by identifying anomalies in the newly applied coating or surface treatment.
Use in the Energy Sector
In the energy sector, RIVEAL is utilized to analyze heat exchanger tubulars and pipeline interiors. It processes data captured by Oceanit’s other technologies, including:
CorLance: a cyber-physical system created to optimize heat exchangers. CorLance facilitates rapid cleaning and maintenance while also functioning as a survey tool. Equipped with a probe, it inspects tubular interiors, collecting detailed data on surface conditions.
PiggyBack is an intelligent PIG (pipeline inspection gauge) system that travels through pipelines like standard PIGs but captures qualitative surface data. It combines multi-spectral imaging with an onboard inertial navigation system (INS) for precise geolocation. PiggyBack’s data is ingested by RIVEAL, which “unwraps” and analyzes it at high speeds.
Pipeline inspectors using RIVEAL can immerse themselves in a virtual reality (VR) reconstruction of pipelines, enabling them to “fly through” the interior while visually inspecting flagged areas. They can switch between light spectra to reveal issues such as corrosion or fractures. The system analyzes hundreds of miles of pipeline or thousands of heat exchanger tubes in minutes, providing actionable insights that reduce maintenance costs, prevent accidents, and ensure safe and reliable operations.
Expansion to Aviation
RIVEAL is also being utilized in aviation. Aircraft, both military and civilian, operate in harsh environments and fly through adverse conditions, accumulating many flying hours and ground hours in climates that can be corrosive (high saltwater areas, like Hawaii), erosive (flying through hail storms or ash clouds), or otherwise wear down the coatings and paints that keep their flight surfaces safe. All this operating time requires regular and thorough maintenance.
RIVEAL is being adapted for aircraft and support equipment cleaning and maintenance programs, providing real-time inspection on the condition of aircraft and associated equipment. The U.S. Air Force uses robotic water-jetting arms to blast chipping paint or rust off equipment. RIVEAL is being applied to make that surface preparation process more efficient, more comprehensive, and faster. RIVEAL enables the robotic cleaning arms to move with more precision, adjusting to varying surfaces, coatings, and shapes to ensure optimal cleaning and surface preparation.
Applications Beyond
RIVEAL has many other potential applications, including road repairs, ship, airplane, and automobile painting, and even touch-free car washes. RIVEAL’s power lies in its ability to detect surface imperfections and direct connected cyber-physical systems to address the problem, whether it’s injecting asphalt into a pothole or touching up the paintwork on a rear bumper.
