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ROV.FISH

DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Our overarching goal is to make underwater research platforms accessible to a broader end-use community by reducing the cost and level of technical skill required to own, operate, modify, and maintain them.

To demonstrate the opportunity provided by new technology and to accelerate its development, we focused on using existing, commercially available Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) as a base platform, which had to meet the following criteria: 

  • Cost: US$20K maximum

  • Size: capable of deployment and recovery by one person 

  • Payload capacity: adequate space and power to support a “scientifically useful” sensor payload​​

​​For scientific purposes, the base platform also had to be:

  • Flexible: ability to accommodate a multi-sensor payload in a manner that allows for quick and easy sensor swapping in the field  

  • Configurable: supplied with open-source or non-proprietary architecture, allowing direct sensor integration 

Scroll down to learn more about the ROV platforms we've developed.

ROV-FISH-1

ROV.FISH-1

Our first ROBOTS.FISH platform, ROV.FISH-1 was designed for measuring dispersed crude oil in surface waters. We only had two months to select a base vehicle and locate, borrow, and integrate the necessary sensors for the tank experiment (Ohmsett 2019). Many thanks to Elisa Miller (Blue Robotics) and Brian Robinson (Bedford Institute of Oceanography) - without their help, we would never have made the deadline.

NAME

BASE VEHICLE

PURPOSE

PAYLOAD

ROV.FISH-1

  • 3 x fluorescence sensor (crude oil)

  • temperature sensor

  • 1080p video camera

Ohmsett assembly_edited.png
ROV-FISH-2

ROV.FISH-2

ROV.FISH-2 was designed as a flexible platform to test sensor integration and to compare sensor measurements. It has been used mainly in the Bedford Basin (Halifax, Canada) and in the Bras d'Or Lake (Cape Breton, Canada) for environmental measurements. More information to come! 

NAME

BASE VEHICLE

PURPOSE

PAYLOAD

ROV.FISH-2

  • conductivity and temperature (CT) sensor

  • fluorescence sensor (chlorophyll)

  • oxygen sensor

  • pH sensor

  • 1080p video camera

ROV-FISH-3

ROV.FISH-3

ROV.FISH-3 was designed as an improvement on ROV.FISH-1, based on lessons learned at (and since) the Ohmsett 2019 experiment. It was used alongside AUV.FISH-3 ("Milli") for oil spill detection during Ohmsett 2022. More information to come! 

NAME

BASE VEHICLE

PURPOSE

PAYLOAD

ROV.FISH-3

  • fluorescence sensor (crude oil)

  • temperature sensor

  • water sampler

  • 4K video camera

  • 1080p video camera

  • scanning sonar

REFERENCES

REFERENCES

  1. Blue Robotics Inc. (2023). Blue Robotics - Underwater ROVs. Retrieved from https://bluerobotics.com/

  2. Government of Canada. (2022). Bedford Institute of Oceanography. Retrieved from https://www.bio.gc.ca/index-en.php

  3. Blue Robotics Inc. (2023). BlueROV2 Heavy Configuration Retrofit Kit. Retrieved from https://bluerobotics.com/store/rov/bluerov2-upgrade-kits/brov2-heavy-retrofit/

Last revised: February 27, 2023​

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