ROV survey of a dam

[shohebshaikh]

Hey Guys i know u can hlp me and also like always some might try to give me ahard time.
I just want to know which would be the best rov for inspection of a water DAM (fresh water). the depth is about 200 feet.
plase …

[Wade Berglund]

I would have to say that a Seaeye Falcon would do great on a job like that.
It is an electric eyeball system that is lightweight and relatively easy to deploy and operate.

[subman]

Stick with the Falcon and leave well alone Video Rays and SeaBotix if your looking at seahand look at deep Search .

Cheers

Subman

[James McLauchlan]

If the vehicle is only going to be used for a specific task, such as diving in fresh water with little or no current, and no deeper than 200ft (61m) then you might wish to consider a highly portable Micro ROV system such as the AC-ROV.

• Light: System = 18Kg [39.68lbs] (inc. transit case).
• Simple to use: One person set-up & operation.
• Rapid Deployment: Under 3 minutes!
• Small: Fly through capability only 190mm [7.48"]
• Agile: 6 thrusters – (4 horizontal/vectored & 2 vertical)
• Operating depth: Down to -75m [-246ft]

We sell them over at http://www.ROVworld.eu The AC-ROV has been used successfully for dam inspections before.

I feel that, for the task specified, the Falcon (1000ft depth rated) is overkill size wise and from a commercial standpoint.

• L1000mm x H500mm x W600mm
• -300m (984ft) rating
• Launch weight of 50kg,

If you are looking for a system to keep at the dam for occasional inspection work to 200ft you would be burning money by buying a larger less portable system such as the Falcon.
On the other hand if you are starting an inshore ROV business, and may need to dive at various locations deeper that 250ft, then you may wish to consider the larger vehicle.

best regards
James Mc

[T-Boy]

Anything Seaeye is too big for this task I would say…

How about http://www.benmarine.fr/files/ROV_FR.pdf…It’s yellow and it looks like a sub… 😆

[Craig Thorngren]

shohebshaikh,

My partner just came back from doing four highly successful hydro dam inspections in South America. One item you must consider is the water visibility. In low vis situations (less than 2 meters) a sonar is going to an essential tool for you to use. He used a BlueView 2-D imaging sonar for navigation and inspection. He then flew to the area that needed inspecting (mostly trash racks) visually.
He used a VideoRay ProIIIXE GTO. It was all checked in as airline luggage which eliminated the hassles of shipping gear someplace. Send me a PM if you want more information on it.

Chief

[Thomas]

shohebshaikh,

My partner just came back from doing four highly successful hydro dam inspections in South America. One item you must consider is the water visibility. In low vis situations (less than 2 meters) a sonar is going to an essential tool for you to use.

Chief

…and/or a positioning system.

[Craig Thorngren]

You are correct Thomas!

Chief

[Thomas]

You are correct Thomas!

Chief

I try…sometimes

Like Chief mentioned, when your visibility is poor you need some way to determine what is where and where you are at. The benefit of the sonar is that you can see what is around you. The benefit of a positioning system is that you know where you are relative to the dam (assuming you scanned the drawing in) and know where you have already been.

Both the sonar and positioning system make the job MUCH easier/quicker and ensure that you have throughly inspected the damn.

Without either, I am sure you can get it done, but it’s not ideal.

It’s like driving a car into the sun without glasses on…

[Andy Shiers]

I hate to say it , but Falcon or Deepsea Rover . Mini Rover MK 11. 😕

[Salona]

I have to agree that the Falcon would be best suited for this particular application. The Ac-Rov has very limited uses as it has no form of positioning whatsoever, not even a compass! What’s the point of inspection work where you can’t provide a fix?

[James McLauchlan]

………….The Ac-Rov has very limited uses as it has no form of positioning whatsoever………

That statement is a little misleading.
It needs to be made clear to those looking for a system with a requirement for positioning/tracking that none of the other systems come with positioning as standard. Positioning is always an optional extra which the client pays for over and above the cost of the standard unit.

Please refer to the AC-ROV manufacturers website: http://www.ac-cess.co.uk/

Look under options on the first page where it clearly says:

Options Suitable for Retro-fit

• USBL Positioning & Tracking

So yes, the AC-ROV can provide a fixes and tracking by using an optional tracking system.

All the systems mentioned will work to the depth specified by the OP and all can be fitted with positioning systems. All can record video output.

Now, assuming the above ticks boxes for the OP’s requirements then the commercial decision would most likely come down to portability and can he get the job done for the money.

best regards
James Mc

[Andy Shiers]

So there is a sonar on it ?

[James McLauchlan]

So there is a sonar on it ?

No…. but there is no sonar on a standard Falcon either. It’s an optional extra. The full standard specs for either system can be found at their respective manufacturers websites.

They are different classes of vehicle which is why the AC-ROV doesn’t come in three cases, weighs five times as much or cost multiple times as much, per system. Also worth considering is the AC-ROV power requirement is 300watts as opposed to 2.8 kw for the Falcon).
Horses for courses yet again.

As I said earlier it’s down to what the client wants out of the package and how much they have to spend. It’s simply not about pitting off systems on a ‘what system has what feature’ basis. Some features are desirable, some are required and some are not required but which system cannot do the job?

At the recent marine show in Lisbon (Nauticampo 2009) we were approached by a few Portuguese dam operators. They were were interested in the AC-ROV because, as we demonstrated, it was highly portable. The high portability obviously appealed to them more than having multiple sensors available. With the AC-ROV you take one case and a hand carry a small genset (system only requires 300watts) chuck it in the back of a hatch-back and drive to the dive site. It’s all one man lift, one man deploy and one man operations.

Like many here I’m used to offshore systems where all the bangs and whistles are at our disposal. That’s is a nice situation to be in, especially when we don’t have to pay for the stuff but, like me, there are very few people on here that have ever actually have to pay for the extra sensors.
It’s easy to specify sonar and acoustic positioning as a minimum when it’s not coming out of your pocket.

As I mentioned earlier. If the OP is starting an ROV business surveying various dams all year round then a bugger unit with more sensors might make more sense. If the original inquiry was for occasional use to 200ft at one location, then forking out for an ROV system that will need a pilot tech to maintain and operate it is not the solution.

[Salona]

Please refer to the AC-ROV manufacturers website: http://www.ac-cess.co.uk/

Look under options on the first page where it clearly says:

Options Suitable for Retro-fit

• USBL Positioning & Tracking

No need James, I spent a year building the things, I know them inside out! I do believe that the little Ac-Rov is at the top end of the micro-rov market but it does suffer from a lack of development and there is quite simply no room left to fit any extra internal sensors.

[Author]

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