  We present the UK Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Hub for Offshore
Robotics for Certification of Assets (ORCA Hub), a 3.5 year EPSRC funded,
multi-site project. The ORCA Hub vision is to use teams of robots and
autonomous intelligent systems (AIS) to work on offshore energy platforms to
enable cheaper, safer and more efficient working practices. The ORCA Hub will
research, integrate, validate and deploy remote AIS solutions that can operate
with existing and future offshore energy assets and sensors, interacting safely
in autonomous or semi-autonomous modes in complex and cluttered environments,
co-operating with remote operators. The goal is that through the use of such
robotic systems offshore, the need for personnel will decrease. To enable this
to happen, the remote operator will need a high level of situation awareness
and key to this is the transparency of what the autonomous systems are doing
and why. This increased transparency will facilitate a trusting relationship,
which is particularly key in high-stakes, hazardous situations.
