SOLUTION / PUBLIC SOURCE RECORD
Norwegian Subsea delivers tailormade motion sensors for floating wind
- Published 13 October 2022; updated 30 September 2026; estimated reading time 3 minutes. Listed as available in the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Categories include Offshore wind (development/presurvey and operations/maintenance), Maritime (ship design/equipment, operations/management/digital solutions and retrofit/recycling/lifecycle), and Energy.
- Norwegian Subsea supplies motion reference units (MRUs, also called six-degree-of-freedom sensors) for floating offshore wind. Floating platforms can move in six degrees, affecting energy production, structural life, operations and maintenance; accurate motion measurement is presented as important for the sector.
- MRUs measure real-time attitude (roll, pitch and yaw) and linear motion (surge, sway and heave), plus associated velocity and acceleration. The described sensor assembly combines a high-accuracy three-axis MEMS gyroscope and three-axis MEMS accelerometer, with readings processed by a sensor-fusion algorithm.
- The company claims high accuracy and reliability in challenging conditions, including rough seas, at smaller size and lower cost. CEO Fredrik Dukan says comparable sensors cost at least two to three times as much; this is the company’s comparison.
- Uses across a floating wind farm’s lifecycle include site assessment, structural-integrity monitoring and real-time blade-pitch control. The company says the MRUs provide data amid complex motion, vibration and horizontal acceleration; compact size and low power needs allow flexible placement. The interface is intended to be plug-and-play, with customization for users because the page says the niche lacks industry standards.
- The page’s market forecast, based on cited industry projections, says annual floating-wind installations were expected to grow 83% from 2021 to 2026, with production rate reaching 9,990 MW by 2031 versus 57 MW. These are dated projections, not confirmed current outcomes.
- The company says its MRUs have been field-tested on floating wind structures, lidar buoys, active heave-compensated cranes and motion-compensated gangways. Target customers include system integrators serving offshore-wind developers and turbine manufacturers worldwide. It notes applications are also emerging in marine, subsea and land-based sectors.
- Linked to SDG 7, Affordable and clean energy, through improving the cost and accuracy of floating wind systems.
- Contact: Chris Ruigrok, Sales Manager, cr@norwegian-subsea.no. Phone number is behind a collapsed reveal control. Company: NORWEGIAN SUBSEA AS, Harbitzalléen 2A, 0275 Oslo, Norway; norwegian-subsea.no.