Remote Underwater Exploration
For those who like playing “Where’s Wally”, can you spot any of the following:
Seastars (likely Meridiastra calcareous)
Elephant snail (Scutus antipodes)
Purple urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma)
Barnacles (Cirripedia species)
Limpets
Seaweed and crayweed
Mulberry whelk (Morula marginalba) and other sea snails
Fogging can be a real problem because it interferes with visibility. Humidity and condensation will always be an issue because of air to water temperature differentials, so minimising moisture in the housings is essential. the problem can be minimised with a little effort, especially since we can easily access the BlueROV2 internals. Using one or both of the methods listed below has the optimum outcome for the greatest variety of environmental conditions.
1 – equalise the ROV in dehumidified room: in a small room with a dehumidifier, remove the electronics enclosure vent plug and leave the ROV to equalise for several hours. You may find similar results in a well air conditioned room overnight, depending on relative humidity.
2 – desiccant: use desiccant to remove humidity from the electronics enclosure. We suggest rechargeable, moisture indicating, silica gel, which you can purchase through us or other suppliers.
Enjoy!
A student STEM ROV Club in Wausau Wisconsin shows off the ROV they built for their state MATE ROV competition.
Full article available at: 7News Wausau, 30apr18
The US Army Corps of Engineers used a VideoRay Pro4 to inspect a hurricane-damaged dam in Puerto Rico as a pre-dive safety assessment.
“We first used an ROV to give us an idea of the safety conditions below the water, before we were willing to send a diver down there, as well as inspect and record portions of the structure that would not be accessible to one of our divers” said Weston Cross, a Buffalo District Engineer and dive team member. “We were able to determine that the gates were where they were supposed to be, the concrete was in good condition, and there weren’t any obstructions that could foul the diver.”
Full article available at: DVIDS News, 31mar18
Students around the world are busy preparing for the 2018 International SeaPerch Challenge in N. Dartmouth Massachusetts in early June. Teams start with the stock SeaPerch kit to create an underwater remotely operated vehicle. Members then have to learn how to make their ROV more simple, streamlined and maneuverable by improving their understanding of drag, buoyancy and thrust. Regional competitions are usually held in Feb-Apr (click here for the full schedule) and winners continue to work hard to make their vehicles even faster by June so their ROV can complete underwater tasks faster than their competitors’.
For more details, go to the 2018 SeaPerch Challenge page