Heavy Configuration ROV with T500 Thrusters for Habitat Mapping

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For my masters, me and another engineer were tasked with developing an ROV using the T500 thrusters that could be used for habitat mapping. A downward facing ILX-LR1 camera was integrated with the ROV to take high resolution photos for photogrammetry and the camera was fitted with a special lens to take multispectral images to showcase the capability of using the ROV to identify different aquatic plants in a shallow water environment.

IASC ROV
IASC ROV1797×817 40.4 KB

The Imaging and Analysis for Seafloor Classification (IASC) ROV had a weight of 30.63 kg with a length of 550 mm, a width of 812 mm and height of 500 mm. The video attached below shows the integration of the ILX-LR1 with a BlueROV2 between 00:00 - 2:52 and the development of the IASC ROV between 2:52 - 7:46. The ROV was tested in a dive tank before being tested in a freshwater environment at a depth of 10 meters.

Development of a Shallow Water ROV for Benthic Habitat Mapping

We found that the IASC ROV outperforms the retrofitted BlueROV2 in maneuverability and stability, making it ideal for imagery collection. We also only ran the IASC ROV at low gains using the 14.8V 18Ah battery and even at low gains it was very capable of navigating with the T500 thrusters in the environment it was tested in. The downward-facing camera that is mounted on the IASC ROV also gave a unique perspective for navigation having two different directional views during flight and would make it much easier to collect imagery of the seafloor. We made sure there was room for expansion with mounting holes for additional attachments e.g (grippers, water linked DVL) and a additional enclosure for more control software or electrical components needed.

We would love to know people’s thoughts on the overall project and the design, what could be improved or revised on the ROV to make it better if a similar project was to be attempted e.g (redesigning the ROV replacing the cylindrical enclosures for the new watertight boxes with a heat sink for cooler electronics and a more compact ROV.) or what could be integrated or expanded on with the existing ROV to make it more functional and capable in the future e.g (upgrading to the 22.2V 28Ah battery or top side power, adding the water linked DVL to allow measurement of distance from sea floor or for a dead reckoning system.)

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This is super cool build, nicely done, @Lsbutler21!

We’re doing somewhat similar work with BlueROV2s to conduct photo/video surveys within kelp forests along coastal Washington (see here). I would think that ROVs with the T500 thursters could be really useful in areas of the coast where ripping current challenges surveys.

Regarding your next steps: supplying power over the wire was a game-changer for us. We use the Outland system and x2 200Ah lithium-ion batteries on our vessel. Having a DVL is also quite useful for our ROV surveys, as it, e.g., allows us to lock-in any given altitude above the seafloor to improve the consistency of our survey imagery, e.g., via surftrak, which is now a part of ArduSub 4.5 Beta (and also see surftrak_fixit in the BlueOS Extensions for surftrak setup / monitoring assistance).

I do have a question . . . we were/are interested in the Sony ILX-LRI camera you used . . . how did you integrate it with the ROV? A colleague of ours attempted the LAN connection, but reported some issues that I don’t believe were resolved. I’m aware there’s also a local wifi connection option as well, but we opted not to pursue that. How did you go about the ILX-LRI integration, and what was your experience??

Cheers!
Zach