Deep Dive with Blueye Underwater Drones: Hardware and Software Architecture

Explore the fascinating world of underwater drone technology through this conference talk from NDC TechTown in Kongsberg, Norway, where Jonas Follesø presents an in-depth look at Blueye's underwater drone development journey. Learn about the company's evolution since 2015, including their milestone achievement of capturing the first images of the damaged Nord Stream pipeline in 2022. Discover the technical architecture behind these sophisticated underwater drones, including their hardware components, software systems, and the custom-built Blunux operating system. Gain insights into manufacturing processes, automated testing using OpenHTF, control system development with C++ and ROS2, and communication protocols utilizing ZeroMQ and Protobuf. Experience stunning underwater footage of marine life and shipwrecks while understanding how these drones serve various industries including defense, search and rescue, aquaculture, environmental monitoring, and construction. Master the complexities of building robust, user-friendly, and scalable hardware-software products through real-world lessons learned in deploying over 1250 units across 60+ countries.