Whenever drones are mentioned, many tend to think of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). For maritime applications, however, remotely operated underwater vehicles (commonly called underwater ROVs or underwater drones) are king. Underwater ROVs, like their airborne cousins, have become widely adopted in recent years. Just as UAVs have democratized the skies for many, industries and institutions across the globe whose work requires them to journey into bodies of water are looking to underwater ROVs as affordable solutions to access these depths.
What are underwater drones and ROVs?
As their name suggests, underwater drones or ROVs (short for remotely operated vehicles) are submersible, tethered, and highly maneuverable drones designed to operate underwater. Like aerial drones, underwater ROVs come in a variety of sizes. They can be outfitted to meet the unique needs of a multitude of maritime and subsea industries and applications.
Thanks to their versatility and cost-effectiveness, many agencies and organizations that traditionally relied upon expensive submarines and human divers to carry out their underwater operations have all but replaced them with underwater ROVs. These include but are not limited to asset monitoring, infrastructure inspections, public safety, search and rescue/recovery, defense and security, academia, and environmental conservation/preservation.
How are underwater drones being used?
Thanks to their compact size and 360° omnidirectional maneuverability, underwater drones are a safe and efficient way for maritime and subsea industries, agencies, and organizations to remotely evaluate and monitor their assets and conduct inspections while reducing both operational costs and human risks. Below are some examples of underwater ROVs’ real-world applications:
Aquaculture
Fisheries and other aquacultural enterprises can utilize underwater ROVs to remotely assess their fish farming operations. Traditionally, fish farmers would have to do so manually by making the dives themselves.
Shipping
Underwater drones enable shipping companies and shipyards to perform routine ship evaluations remotely and efficiently. They can also perform detailed hull inspections, shipyard activity monitoring, and damage assessments.
Offshore Energy
Underwater ROVs are a safe and cost-effective way for offshore energy companies to remotely carry out detailed industrial inspections. They can perform maintenance at offshore platforms without having to put engineers in harm’s way.
Utilities
Utility providers such as power and telecommunications companies can deploy underwater drones to remotely assess and monitor subsea or submerged structures. Underwater drones can also track underwater pipelines, power cables, and fiber optic data cables.
Public Works
Underwater drones are ideal for agencies and organizations maintaining various water-related public works. They routinely carry out detailed structural and safety inspections of waterways and ports. They can also monitor submerged structures like bridge piers and abutments, dams, and other subsea platforms.
Search and Rescue/Recovery
Thanks to their ability to house a variety of add-ons (such as buoyant robotic arms and other search and recovery tools), underwater ROVs are perfectly suited for a range of underwater search and rescue as well as salvage and recovery operations. Their ability to retrieve and carry much heavier payloads than human divers is an obvious advantage. In situations that require the deployment of human divers, underwater drones can identify potential dangers to the environment before sending in human assets.
Defense & Security
Since you can operate underwater ROVs remotely from a distance, they can scout, locate, identify, and eliminate dangerous underwater threats that may be present within naval theaters of operations without the need to place human assets in jeopardy.
Academia
Since they are much more affordable than cost-prohibitive submarines, underwater ROVs greatly lower the barrier to entry for educators and students studying marine biology, naval engineering, and other maritime fields. Underwater drones allow educators to safely and efficiently conduct detailed subaquatic explorations to uncover the mysteries of the vast oceans.
Marine Conservation and Preservation
Thanks to their much smaller footprint and relatively quiet operation, underwater ROVs are also important tools for organizations working in marine conservation and ecological preservation. They facilitate the non-disruptive monitoring of marine environments, home to hundreds of thousands of aquatic species, as well as the diverse habitats that support them.
Underwater Drones: Product Highlights
If you’re in the market for an underwater drone, be sure to check out the following options from CHASING that Adorama has to offer:
CHASING M2 S Underwater ROV with 656′ Tether
The CHASING M2 S is an underwater ROV with 656′ tethering. It sports a battery capacity of 2500 mAh / 97.68Wh Lithium-Ion battery. This enables extended dive times of up to 6 hours, depending on the conditions. It is rated for depths of up to 200m (328 feet), with an extendable distance of 400 meters. Also, it has a 4 knots at top speed.
Equipped with NeptuneX Intelligent Flight Control System, this fully powered and neutrally buoyant robotic arm has a C-Sense control system for flexible and stable operations (with clamp lock function) and a grabber arm, laser scaler, floodlights to salvage objects with ease. It also includes two 2000lm LED lights and an integrated 4K EIS image stabilization camera powered by a 12MP 1/2.3″ CMOS sensor with a wide 150° field of view and an aperture of f/2.8 with a 64GB removable SD card. It has a built-in observer mode, an option for multiple devices watching, HDMI output, VR support, live-streaming, social media sharing, and quick editing tools.
This drone is an ideal option for underwater photography, video, content creation, hull and dock inspection, and fishery or aquaculture monitoring, to name a few.
Qysea FIFISH PRO V6 PLUS Underwater ROV Kit
The FIFISH PRO V6 PLUS is an advanced, highly customizable industrial-grade underwater ROV platform with features to meet the needs of a diverse range of industry-specific applications. It features a removable 388.8Wh lithium-ion battery capsule with up to 8 hours of continuous battery life (depending on operating conditions). Plus, it includes a quick charging mode that can charge the battery to 70% in just one hour.
Thanks to its all-new, powerful, and patented Q-Motor system, the Qysea FIFISH PRO V6 PLUS has a maximum speed of 2 m/s (4 knots) and can reach depths of up to 350m (1148’). The included robotic arm can deliver over 196N (20kgf) of clamping force. Meanwhile, the five Q-IF interface ports onboard allow pilots to integrate other add-ons (such as 2D and 3D imaging sonars, augmented reality ruler, compass ruler, and other inspection and measurement tools) to greatly expand the ROV’s capabilities.
It also comes equipped with 12000 Lumen LEDs and dual 4K UHD cameras powered by 12MP 1/2.3″ Sony CMOS sensors. It offers 100° vertical and 166° horizontal fields of view. Additionally, it’s capable of 4K video (25/30 fps), slow motion video (up to 240 fps in 720p), and DNG RAW image capture. The Qysea FIFISH PRO V6 PLUS also features many telemetry and guidance systems, such as its built-in Station Lock algorithm, Underwater Quick Positioning System (U-QPS), and patented Sonar Array System.
Together, these features provide real-time location 3D mapping, POI recordings, three-dimensional dive paths, smart distance lock, altitude lock, collision avoidance, and terrain contour scanning functions. Finally, they enable underwater position locking and, with one click, return to the ROV’s original location.
Learn more about underwater drones
Do you have questions about underwater drones and ROVs? Speak to an Adorama technical specialist to learn more.
