Partners sought for Irish ROV development
Prospective partners are sought for continuing refinement and development of Rovlatis, a new generation smart ROV constructed for international marine applications by the University of Limericks Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre (MMRC).
Designed as a host platform for the testing and commercial spin-off of new ROV and mission support technologies, Rovlatis is said to differ from other survey class ROVs of its size in a number of key areas.One such is a new intelligent vehicle navigation guidance and control system that provides fault tolerant thruster control and steering assistance to compensate for marine disturbances while optimising the vehicle’s performance during survey operations.
For open water surveys, large areas can be covered quickly when the vehicle is operated under tow. For confined areas such as harbours, it can be self propelled and precisely steered using its own thrusters. With the quick release of buoyancy, the vehicle has a full six degree freedom of motion, with eight thrusters to descend and collect high resolution survey data on or near seabeds.
It is capable of operating at depths down to 1,500m and features an open architecture design, with options for a variety of payloads. Rovlatis’ current survey equipment includes a Reson SeaBat 7125 multibeam system, a Tritech SeaKing sidescan sonar, an RDI doppler log and Ixsea Phins inertial navigation. It was due to commence sea trials at the end of February aboard the Irish Marine Institute’s 65m research vessel, Celtic Explorer. Meanwhile, those interested in co-exploiting the commercial potential of the vehicle and its technologies should contact Dr Daniel Toal of the MMRC (Email: daniel.toal@ul.ie).
