Officials from academia, government and the private sector who develop and promote unmanned vehicle systems (UVS) converged on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 21 to provide members of Congress with insight on the latest UVS technologies and how they are being used.

The event was the Unmanned Systems Caucus Technology & Science Fair held at the Rayburn House Office Building and sponsored by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.

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VALLEY SPRINGS, Calif., Rising out of the depths of New Hogan Lake is an odd underwater entity. It has bright, glowing eyes, a single powerful claw and a bright green tail that’s hundreds of feet long. Fortunately, it obeys every command of the Sacramento District Park Rangers stationed at the surface.

This is an underwater remotely-operated vehicle, or ROV, one of two operated by the district to give the team a way to assess underwater elements of our mission without requiring full dive crews. One ROV is stationed at New Hogan Lake and the other at Pine Flat Lake.

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug. 29, 2011 -- U.S. Army divers, at the request of the Afghanistan Engineer District-South, arrived at the district's headquarters at Kandahar Airfield in early August to help inspect both the Kajaki and Dahla dams. Their plan was to use a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to collect data and images of the gate structures, release valves, inlet tunnels and trash racks.

The team intended to obtain data, such as sediment buildup, structural integrity and concrete cavitations and provide it to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, engineers and project managers working to analyze and improve the dams' integrity

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A dive services provider located on North America's west coast, operating out of Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast and serving private individuals, companies and governments from Chile to Alaska, SeaVeyors Environmental and Marine Services Ltd. heads into its sixth year of business at the forefront of the marine industry.

Utilizing the latest in ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) technology, the highly experienced team at SeaVeyors offers solutions for a broad range of industry needs, including: marine accident investigations and recovery, aquaculture surveys, outfall inspections, anchor and mooring surveys, reservoir and dam inspections, spawn monitoring, biological sampling, soft bottom sampling, and peak biomass surveys

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Congratulations to all the participants in the 2011 RoboSub Competition co-sponsored by the AUVSI Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, which was held at SPAWAR’s TRANSDEC facility in San Diego July 12-17. SeaBotix enjoyed participating as a major sponsor including providing an LBV300-4 for live video coverage dressed in black so as not to be confused with the lime-green targets that make up part of the course. Again this year, the LBV was piloted by our annual group of paid summer interns filming the quarterfinals through the finals for live viewing by the spectators. Our interns also supported the teams that use SeaBotix thrusters on their AUVs by providing spare parts and technical support.

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On July 24, 2011, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office received information from a deep diver that while diving in Lake Tahoe near Rubicon Point he located a deceased diver in a rock crevice. The deep diver reported that the deceased diver was approximately 250-270 feet below the lake surface. Based on the reported depth it was determined that the Sheriff's Office would use a remote operated vehicle (ROV) for the search and possibly the recovery. The Sheriff's Office, through a grant, had purchased the ROV two years ago for circumstances like these.

Rocklin & Roseville Today Story - 5Aug2011

Sign On San Diego Story - 11Aug2011

Congratulations to all the teams that participated in the recent MATE International ROV competition at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Read more about the competition

A recent mobilization by CRASAR's Roboticists Without Borders program utilized a SeaBotix SARbot^® rapid response system to help inspect critical infrastructure and locate victims. Personnel from SeaBotix aided in the effort along with other team members and ROV systems.

Read more about the trip

There has been a rising tide of underwater applications for ROVs (remote operated vehicles) over the past few years, especially with intensified focus on maritime security and a mandated need to satisfy increasingly strict enforcement regulations. Below the water line ROVs have been repeatedly enlisted at ports and harbors to find and identify unknown foreign objects (from contraband to explosives) that may have been clandestinely attached to the hull of a ship.

Go to the Design World Article

The February issue of Police Life features an article about the Victoria Water Police Underwater Security Team (UST) and how they use high tech equipment to monitor ports, inspect vessels and search for lost items. As a long time client of SeaBotix the UST has become incredibly proficient in the use of ROVs, side scan and radial sonars with a long list of success stories.

Go to the Police Life Article

During an underwater cave exploration in Papua New Guinea, five people are trapped when a cyclone starts flooding the cave. With the water going up and the oxygen running out, their only hope of survival is to travel through the unexplored underwater caves following the course of the river that leads into the ocean.

James Cameron's latest film Sanctum has an LBV called Virgil.

Go to Sanctum Website

Popular Science magazine has recently written an article featuring the SeaBotix SARbot^® rescue system comparing the system to the new Jaws of Life. Pick up your copy of Popular Science and turn to page 38 or view the article online from the link below.

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When I chaired the first Remotely Operated Vehicle conference (ROV ’83), small observation class ROVs were just beginning to appear on the market. Although touted to provide support to divers offshore, they were not readily accepted; in fact, many divers thought they were a threat to their livelihood. And they were essentially right. Today, many tasks formerly performed by divers are routinely completed by small, portable ROVs, and in many cases they are welcomed as the operator, often a former diver, is now topside controlling the robot that is often working in a hazardous or toxic environment. And at least one of those former divers, one who had a vision of the future, exploited this emerging robotic technology to create more than one successful company.

Read the full article written by Robert Wernli