Scottish research and development company PSL has developed a new kind of light for divers working in offshore oil and gas
The company, a spin out of the University of St Andrews, recently announced it had made improvements to its award-winning Lightpath product – a side-emitting flexible fibre which projects a continuous and flexible line of light that carries no electrical power.
The original Lightpath won the Subsea UK Innovation for Safety Award 2014 but, following industry requests for a smaller light source that could be used at greater depths, the new SLS2000 was created.
The new product is a small, compact unit with a diameter of 30mm and a length of 70mm, which has been designed to provide a light source to saturation divers using an LED attached to the umbilical at the divers’ end.
“The first unit was ready for testing just two months after we received the initial feedback on specific requirements,” said PSL director Don Walker. “As a sealed-for-life unit, it’s a first for PSL and simplifies the construction in terms of its complexity, part count and minimal size, and maintenance while retaining the lighting concept.
“It’s our aim to start sea trials by the end of this year at the very latest.”
