VideoRay, the Global Leader in Observation ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Technology, recently teamed with Fischer Productions and Dr. Michael Domeier to help further the study of the ocean’s apex predator – the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias).

Chris Fischer, Dr. Domeier, and the professional angling crew of the M/V Ocean have mastered a unique process where they actually hook these giant fish and bring them aboard their vessel for a short time in order to perform a number of scientific procedures including GPS satellite tagging, blood & sperm extraction, and quantitative analysis. The ultimate goal is basic – to learn more about the social interaction, behavioral structure, and breeding patterns of this species that has been swimming the world’s oceans for approximately 16 million years.

The VideoRay Pro 4 ROV system, fitted with a custom High Definition video camera, was deployed from the M/V Ocean in Guadalupe Island, Mexico to gather unique ROV underwater video footage of the Great Whites. This technique was effective in gathering footage that could not be acquired with the normal underwater pole cameras and those held by divers in shark cages. The 10 pound VideoRay ROV was able to dive deep and swim freely among the sharks who were at times more interested in the machine than the whale blubber buffet that was set on a massive 12” circle hook for them. At times the ROV would be swimming with the sharks at depths of 100 feet while being circled, bumped, and sniffed out. The crew discovered that they had to remove the VideoRay when sharks got too close for comfort and before they made a meal of the VideoRay submersible.

See the VideoRay ROV in action in "Expedition Great White – The Perfect Catch" on the National Geographic Channel

Business Link Adviser Roger Bacon explains what makes Atlantas Marine a Challenger business:

"The company has shown how to compete in a highly demanding market, by ensuring that it's better than its rivals in those areas of critical importance to customers. 

The very high quality of service and aftersales support has enabled the company to take on and beat some of the world's largest and best-known businesses at their own game"

Read the full article

Tritech International have announced the launch of the latest addition to the SeaKing family of scanning sonar products – the Hammerhead. The unit can create higher resolution imagery than comparative mechanical scanning imaging sonars, by utilising a large transducer aperture, very fine mechanical step size and proven Digital Sonar Technology.

As standard the SeaKing Hammerhead sonar has two frequencies of operation: A high chirped 935 kHz frequency to enable high resolution imagery, and a second chirped frequency, 675 kHz to allow for long range capability. The wide transducer allows for a very narrow horizontal beam to be created on both frequencies, to increase image resolution.

The Hammerhead has a built in attitude sensor, which makes the unit ideal for tripod deployment, giving the user a clear indication as to the position of the unit relative to the seabed. In addition to the attitude sensor, the unit also has an integrated three axis compass, to allow the sonar image bearing to be continually displayed and updated.

Commenting on the launch, Tritech's Product Line Manager for Imaging Sonars, Ben Grant, said:

"The Hammerhead sonar is at the forefront of scanning sonar technology, and is an ideal addition to the well established SeaKing range. The high operational frequency, combined with a wide transducer aperture, makes this the sonar of choice for any application requiring the highest possible resolution of imagery."

This was followed up in the afternoons with in-water activities to test drive the latest inspection equipment from a wide range of manufacturers.

Group photo taken at Vobster Quay dive centre

Charlie Foll presenting the "UKVC Speed Trial" award to Dennis Knox of Micro ROV Services & the Vobster Jester featuring in the speed trial competition

Craig Thorngren of Submerged Recovery & Inspection Services presenting VideoRay HD footage of a Great White Shark

Designed to help motivate underprivileged and disadvantaged people, the Mires Mor project makes use of Cornwall's inspirational coast and waters to help young people realise their potential and appreciate the world around them.

Participants will experience team building activities onboard a traditional sailing vessel and see coastal and ocean wildlife. Live subsea images from a VideoRay ROV are displayed onboard, and everyone will have the opportunity to control the ROV and explore wildlife which would otherwise remain unseen.

On the 22nd April 2010 the project was launched in Penzance with an open day onboard the sailing vessel "Ruth", which was well attended by a variety of local organisations. Charlie Foll and Mike Underwood from Atlantas Marine attended to support the project with ROV demonstrations in and around penzance harbour. View the youtube movie online

For more information plesae John Elliss or Diana Rodda at miresmor@btinternet.com

In this movie a VideoRay Pro 4 PS300SE is used to inspect a boat wreck during an ROV training course. The Lyyn video enhancer is used to improve the visibilty underwater

Following the very successful ‘UKVC’ events organised by Atlantas Marine in Liverpool in 2007, and Poole in 2005 we are delighted to invite you to UKVC’10.

UKVC’10 is a 2 day ROV conference offering a mix of presentations by industry experts, manufacturers and users, together with in-water demonstrations where your participation is encouraged.... UKVC’10 is a must-attend event for anyone involved in the business of underwater inspection, which includes Videoray ROV users, owners, operators or clients who are considering using ROV’s to assist their operations.

10th - 12th May 2010, near Bath Somerset

Note: Some names and locations have been withheld due to the sensitivity of the operation

In February I provided a Navy Contractor a field demonstration of the VideoRay ROV system equipped with the Smart Tether navigation and positioning system and BlueView ProViewer Imaging SONAR at a former US Navy Bombing Range. The island was used by the US Navy and other military groups for many years for target practice. After protests and political action the Navy closed the range and is in the process of cleaning and removing UXO (unexploded ordinance) and debris. The plan is to turn over the land to the National Park Service who will manage it for the public. The cleanup process on the land has been ongoing for several years, now the Navy is beginning to focus on the water areas around the island range.

Van Meter with the simple setup aboard the work vessel - note the small footprint of the system

The Smart Tether Touch Screen PC fits neatly in the VideoRay Control Panel. The PC may also be used to record digital video and photographic stills

The purpose of my three day effort was to demonstrate the ability of the VideoRay technology and accessories like the Smart Tether to search the underwater areas of the former range for UXO and mark the location of any suspect items for later recovery and destruction.  The Smart Tether navigation system allows a VideoRay operator to know the real-time GPS coordinates of the ROV, and the included software has multiple useful tools for conducting searches or for marking or reacquiring target points.  The Smart Tether software also has the ability to view scanned areas and marked targets in Google Earth, making it easy to geo-reference anything found during an ROV operation.  This set of features made the Smart Tether ideal for this operation, as it was useful for scanning areas for UXO, marking suspect targets, and quickly reacquiring previously-marked targets.

Our objectives for the demo were to:

1. Use the VideoRay/Smart Tether setup to attempt to relocate previously-identified targets at a certain point off the island.
2. Search several areas for UXO and mark their location.
3. Document bottom conditions for potential buoy locations to mark the channel into the island.
4. Ground truth the accuracy of the Smart Tether.

All the objectives were met successfully, several old targets were relocated and excellent video of their current condition was recorded. Several areas were searched both from the beach and from a boat to evaluate the best method for conducting shoreline searches. The Smart Tether was used to document the exact areas searched and the path of the VideoRay and operations boat were recorded and displayed onto Google Earth maps downloaded from the Internet.

Close up of the Smart Tether PC Touch Screen Interface showing where the ROV has been. "X" marks the spots of targets visualy identified with the ROV

The bottom survey of potential buoy locations resulted in several locations as being unusable due to environmental issues, new locations were checked and found to be acceptable. The VideoRay provided video of each area and the Smart Tether provided exact location data and was used to estimate the volume/area of the site.

For ground truthing the accuracy of the Smart Tether, tests were conducted on a deserted beach of the range. A high quality mapping GPS system was used to mark the location of the VideoRay and then coordinates from the Smart Tether were compared. Accuracy was found to be within the Smart Tether published specs and more than adequate for UXO recovery operations.

Sign at the site warning of unexploded ordinance

We are showing the new Videoray ‘Pro 4’ ROV, the most advanced mini-ROV on the market; the ‘Smart Tether’, a non-acoustic positioning system;  the new ‘Triggerfish T4’ ROV from Deep Ocean Engineering; the new ‘Go-Wide’ imaging sonar range from Blueview, and the latest Tritech sonar range; together with  the new ‘Edge Digital Video Recorder (DVR)’.  Our expert team are on hand to help you build an underwater inspection system to meet your needs.

Following on from recent successful sales of maritime pilot navigation systems to UK ports, we are also showing the latest generation of Marimatech Portable Pilot Units (PPU’s), which includes the new CAT ROT ‘pocket navigator’ and the more advanced ‘E-Sea Fix’ PPU.

We look forward to meeting you on stand E200

The channel is approximately 14.8Km in length and varies in width between 90m and 120m. The narrow confines of the navigational width of the channel dictate the use of an extremely accurate positioning system for the exit transit of a nuclear submarine.

In 2007, BAESS initiated a competitive tender process for the provision of the system. Atlantas Marine Ltd was the selected contractor. Atlantas recommended the use of the Marimatech ‘E-Sea Fix’ system, which has a positional accuracy of +/- 2cm, and heading accuracy better than 0.1 degree.  Marimatech, a Danish company, are the world leader in portable navigation systems, which utilises satellite positioning technology.  The base system was enhanced by the incorporation of a rate gyro to smooth data output and the software modified to accept live tide data.

In 2008 the system became operational and was initially used in a synthetic environment at the Marin Research Centre, The Netherlands, during real time simulator training of the exit transit for the crew, pilots and tug masters. Subsequently, to gain experience in its use, Associated British Port Pilots have used the system during the movement of Merchant traffic from the Port of Barrow.

The users consider the system an excellent aid to navigation that markedly improves safety in restricted waters. The Astute Project is delighted with their purchase and the level of after sales support received from Atlantas Marine and Marimatech.

The annual VideoRay conference (VIPS) in October this year saw the release of two new forward looking multibeam sonars.

Seattle based manufacturer Blueview have added a 130 degree sonar to their popular 900KHz series. The P900-130 also features greater range and depth rating than previous models without any reduction in performance or update rate. The increased field of view is a huge benefit when used with an ROV as a search or navigation tool, and its small size and weight make it ideal for use on the VideoRay Pro4 ROV.

Tritech have announced the release of the Gemini 720i, a forward looking 720KHz sonar with 120 degree field of view. The sonar provides very detailed images from close range out to a maximum of 120m with very high update rates, making it suitable for a wide range of ROV and AUV applications.

ROV manufacturer joins elite companies demonstrating outstanding contributions to marine science and technology.

The annual Marine Technology Society’s Compass Industrial Award is presented to any legally operated industrial firm (excluding government and non-profit organizations) that has demonstrated outstanding contributions to marine science and technology. VideoRay is honored to accept this award.

"Affordability, portability and deployment ability are three reasons VideoRay submersible technology has made the company’s remotely operated vehicles among the most sought after in the world. With products that can be purchased for less than $6,000, VideoRay has repeatedly demonstrated that an ROV the size of a football can be used to inspect open-water sites that are deep, murky and dangerous, and to do so effectively and much less expensively than larger ROVs. The company has driven the development of tiny sensors and pioneered the deployment of BlueView multibeam sonar.

One of the most fundamental challenges in ROV design is keeping water out of the unit, and the most challenging place to do so is the thrusters. VideoRay’s cartridge seal effectively seals thrusters with minimal loss of power. VideoRay advances the industry through its support of the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center and similar organizations. It has given universities a VideoRay Pro ROV and the tools to develop their own controls, encouraging a LINUX-like community among researchers. For its success, innovation and generosity in encouraging its profession, we are pleased to award VideoRay the Compass Industrial Award"

This is a corrosive and hostile environment where it is not possible to deploy divers, and where a lot of inspection equipment would not be able to survive the extreme conditions. Early in 2009, Magnox chose to purchase VideoRay ROVs from Atlantas Marine to assist with these inspections.

Robert Wade from Magnox South commented: "I just wanted to let you know that the VideoRay is holding up well. Approximately 145 wet hours in the pH 11.4 water, no way of telling how much radiation dose it has received total but its still giving us a great picture. Around here we believe its worth it's weight in gold!"

For more information about the VideoRay ROV please contact: sales@atlantasmarine.com

Keep up to date with our latest product releases, news stories, and events by downloading your copy of "WaterLine" today.

We will be offering live demonstrations of the ROV, with Blueview DF900/2250 Dual Frequency imaging sonar along with many more of our underwater products.

Visit us in Southampton on stand S7  (31st March - 2nd April 2009)

www.oceanbusiness.com

The system consists of a single transceiver/antenna unit, with a connection to the ships 24v emergency supply. This equipment is very simple to install and can be fitted by a competant ship's electrician. Due to high demand these systems are now carried in stock, so that we can offer our customers the quickest possible delivery times.

LRIT is also available as an upgrade option to existing Satamatics SSAS customers.

Atlantas Marine are able to supply the hawk card for customer integration, and we also offer a service to retrofit the system for existing VideoRay customers. Please enquire for details

The 900KHz mode is ideal for medium range navigation and target location, whilst the 2250KHz mode produces high quality real-time images with ranges up to 10m allowing the VideoRay to be used effectively in zero visability conditions.

The combination of DF900/2250 and P450E have recently been purchased in the UK by BAE systems for AUV mounted acoustic imaging.

As the leading VideoRay Authorised Service Centre we are in an excellent position to assist with all of your ROV and sonar needs.