New tools for underwater inspection drone

In an ideal world, every vessel would have a trained diver on board to inspect intakes when the ballast water treatment system fails or to check for leaks from the stern tube. But divers are an expensive luxury to carry on a commercial vessel and require constant training and certification.

Drones in shipping are becoming familiar, inspecting pipework, tanks and the condition of the hull coating. The Blueye drone is one of a new generation of models designed to be an eye in the water, delivering high-quality images from the underside of the vessel’s hull. The images are delivered to a smart phone or laptop, which also controls the drone underwater. The Blueye drone has a unique vertical shape, making it more stable because the centre of gravity and centre of buoyancy are farther apart. In addition, damping fins reduce roll oscillations from the waves, giving steady and smooth motions in the video feed. The drone is controlled from the Blueye App installed on a smart phone, by connecting the mobile device to a gaming controller via Bluetooth, and to the drone via wifi.

The Blueye Observer App connects several devices to the drone via wifi and allows the live video to be viewed on multiple screens. With the live-streaming feature, the pilot can share live drone footage directly in a Microsoft Teams meeting, and the app can create dive reports in PDF or Word format. The regular gaming controller is intuitive for many users and the drone features auto-depth and auto-heading to maintain a stable heading and depth while diving. The automatic controls also make it easy to dive in a straight line without manually compensating for currents and drag in the tether.

“The Blueye drone is one of a new generation of models designed to be an eye in the water”

The latest version, the X3, incorporates three guest ports to connect external peripherals such as sonar, manipulators, sensors, cameras and lights. These can be integrated into the Blueye App for the control of grippers and manipulators. Positioning is enhanced with Waterlinked DVL and GPS, and different sonars from Blue Robotics, Impact Subsea, and Blueprint Subsea. The tight integration with Blueye’s user-upgradeable Blunux operating system makes the X3 both future-proof and easy-to-use. “The X3 will allow us to plug in additional equipment and sensors. I think that is the main advantage of this new model - it’s not just a camera unit but can be used as a sensor-carrying platform,” said University of Tromsø Professor, Department Arctic and Marine Biology, Jørgen Berge.

Additional upgrades following the launch of the Blueye X3 are the Blueye high-capacity battery, offering five hours of operating time, and a surface unit second-generation upgraded with USB-C charging and improved waterproofing and tether connection. Both products are compatible with existing Blueye ROV models. Blueye Robotics chief executive Christian Gabrielsen commented “The X3 strengthens Blueye’s position as the provider of the most stable underwater camera, the most comprehensive software integration, and the lowest cost over the product lifetime.”