A New, Smart Survey Platform
ROVLATIS
A new Smart Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) has been developed by the Mobile and Marine Robotics Research Center (MMRRC) at the University of Limerick. ROVLATIS has been designed to serve the international marine sector by enabling flexible high-resolution inshore water and seabed surveys at depths of up to 1,500 m, as well as assisting in homeland security operations. The design and development of this ROV inhouse introduces UL into an elite club of universities and institutes across Europe with such capability. At press time, the vehicle was undergoing final assembly before undertaking an initial eight days of sea trials aboard the R.V. Celtic Explorer at the end of February 2009. The MMRRC anticipates that ROVLATIS will undergo further trials with different configurations and payloads in collaboration with other agencies and institutes later in the year. MMRRC has previously engaged in near seabed surveys of wrecks and cold water corals at depths of up 1,000m, employing high resolution imaging sonar and precision
By Daniel Toal & Simon Marr
Design Team: Sean Nolan, Edin Omerdic, James Riordan, et al.
navigation integrated on board leased ROVs. In June 2005, engineers from MMRRC together with a scientific team from the department of Earth and Ocean Sciences in NUI, Galway, carried out the first every Irish led ROV habitat mapping survey. "It is not possible to enhance vehicle control and improve survey on leased vehicles. MMRRC-developed technology could not be demonstrated and proven, therefore, without the Center building its own unique vehicle," explained Dr. Toal. He said that ROVLATIS was the host platform for proving new technologies and supporting the Center's marine survey IP rollout activities within the international marine sector. Commenting on the benefits of the new ROV, "The development of mission support technologies in parallel with the physical vehicle design and construction has had many benefits for the overall system design, optimization, inter-operability and integration. Furthermore, the vehicle system architecture also affords a high degree of flexibility for vehicle control and payload expansion."
Recovery of Leased Bathysaurus ROV to R.V. Celtic Explorer 36 MTR
ROVLATIS under construction in laboratory March 2009
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