A big shout out and THANK YOU to Sam H at WPI Automata Lab for this documentation on how to network multiple vehicles, i.e. BlueBoat and BlueROV2s:
https://discuss.bluerobotics.com/t/networking-multiple-vehicles-a-guide/21763
Like shark’s sixth sense, ROVs can be equipped with electromagnetic sensors
Elwave’s advanced electromagnetic sensing technology is helping ROVs in turbid and low visibility environments. Special sensors improve the detection, localization, and characterization of both metallic and non-metallic underwater and buried targets, including steel, aluminium, and fiberglass composites.
Full article at: Marine Technology New 14feb25
Chinese, shape-shifting, underwater drone uses water pressure as propulsion
We aren’t sure how this concept works but researchers at Beihang University claim to have developed a small, battery-operated, underwater drone that can not only withstand the pressures of the Mariana Trench but uses the pressure to propel itself.
The drone can also change its shape for various tasks, like using its fins to swim and glide through the water and then switching to legs for crawling along the ocean bed, like a crab.
Full article at: TheSunUK 25mar25
Blue Robotics: vent or pressure relief valve?
Blue Robotics released their Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) in 2022 but we still get questions about the difference between it and the Enclosure Vent and Plug.
The PRV has the functionality of an enclosure vent in that it can be opened manually and used to perform a vacuum test on your enclosure, but it also automatically releases any excess pressure built up inside a watertight enclosure. This automatic venting feature is very useful when you work with the BlueROV2 in warm climates or the enclosures are in direct sunlight while you prepare to launch.
The PRV plug (blue), when used with the backfill adapter (red), allows you to fill an enclosure with an inert gas or to pull an enclosure to vacuum with a vacuum plug (brass) while maintaining a seal.
So, while the PRV is a little more more expensive, the added functionality and versatility is well worth it.
And we recommend you keep a spare plug handy for both the vent and PRV, in case you lose one in the field.
The Challenge of ROV Hazard Avoidance
ROV technicians / pilots will have at least one story about an ROV issue in the field for one reason or another: i.e. tether entanglement, power failure, loss of control, thruster failure… We certainly have had some close calls where our ROV technician has ended up in the water to retrieve their vehicle.
While some of us keep these stories to ourselves, we came across an article recently where an expedition’s primary ROV got entangled in nylon survey line and the back-up ROV sent to retrieve the primary vehicle also got stuck.
We are waiting breathlessly to hear how this story ends.
Full article at: Cassville-Democrat 08may24