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www.sea-technology.com July 2015 / st 21 O bservation-class, underwater ROVs have been steadily grow- ing in popularity. With their com- pact size, versatility and afford- able price range, these unmanned vehicles are being used by more clients for a wide range of subsea operations. In operation since 2006, SEAMOR Marine Ltd. (Nanaimo, Canada) is one of the key producers of vehicles in this class. This company has been producing observation- class ROVs since it was founded. The 300T and 300F, in both their standard size and extended frame 2/4 and 2/2 confgura- tions, are the most well-known previous SEAMOR ROVs. In the past year, the engineering team at SEAMOR Marine has been working hard to develop a fully redesigned pair of ROVs: the Steelhead and the Chinook. SEAMOR Marine President Robin Li sought in- put from clients and users of previous ROVs, particularly to incorporate their feedback from their experiences in the wide range of applications in which SEAMOR ROVs had been used in the past. From hydroelectric dam and pipe- line inspection to aquaculture, in aquar- ium and potable water tanks, in every continent and major body of water, customers valued that SEAMOR ROVs are easy to use, compact and rugged. These were all traits that needed to be retained while the elec- tronics and mechanical design were revamped for the next generation of ROVs. Li also noted that customers' interests and needs for ROV technology suggested that two distinct models with differ- ent capabilities would be a natural evolution for SEAMOR's next products. The Steelhead offers users all the capabilities of an observation-class ROV at an entry-level price; while the Chinook, the fagship model, is a workhorse capable of diving to 600 meters and built for tough jobs. Both SEAMOR ROVs, named after species of salmon native to the Pacifc Northwest, have had top-to-bottom makeovers to help en- sure that each is specially confgured for its range of capabilities. Electronics Redesign The electrical engineering team took on a full redesign of the electronics of the SEAMOR ROVs. Beginning with the thrust- ers, the team wanted to ensure that customers could count on the ROVs as high-quality machines durable enough to get the job done in challeng- ing environments. Powerful Thrusters And Smart Controls The thruster controllers have been fully updated to feature independent cycle-by- cycle current limits on each thruster and gripper channel. This helps to protect the elec- tronics in the event of a thrust- er failure (e.g., if water seeps into a canister or if there is damage to a thruster whip by an operator during equipment setup). These newly implemented fail-safes help to restrict damage and protect a customer's investment. Thruster shaft seals were also revamped. SEAMOR secured new seal ma- terials from a new supplier and quality tested them in-house to ensure they met strict quality controls. The electrical side of the thrusters have also been up- graded to include power flters to eliminate electrical noise, ensuring crystal-clear video from the ROV's camera(s). Fur- ther, the electrical engineering team has also included flters at the outputs of the motor driver channel in the electron- Steelhead and Chinook: Observation-Class ROVS SEAMOR Marine Redesigns Two ROV Models By Elaine Parker (Top) The SEAMOR Steelhead is a light and compact multipurpose ROV. (Bottom) The SEAMOR Chinook is a workhorse ROV able to reach depths of 600 meters.