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22 st / July 2015 www.sea-technology.com Operator Trim Control Another feature praised by operators on both the Chinook and Steelhead ROVs is full zero-to-100 percent thruster trim control on the panel. This enables operators to dial back thruster power for precise control on the fy (e.g., in con- fned spaces, such as pipelines, around or inside wrecks, or in delicate living landscapes like coral reefs) and then crank up the power quickly to fy to another job site or retrieve the vehicle. Independent trim control for the horizontal and vertical thrusters gives operators the ultimate fexibility in ROV control. The operator trim control is a unique feature of SEAMOR ROVs. Li explained that the operator trim control allows users to set limitations on either the horizontal or vertical axes, or both, which helps users to more easily maneuver the vehicle. Once an operator has found a comfortable trim level, he has access to the full range of control offered by the joysticks, which makes piloting the vehicle easy and intui- tive even for the most novice user. SEAMOR customers have applauded this as an excellent and incredibly useful feature. Not only does the operator trim control option provide that "sweet spot" for piloting, each user can adjust his own trim control on the same ROV, which makes the SEAMOR pilot- ing experience feel tailor-made. Powerful Motors While the thrusters were substantially improved with re- gard to their control and electronic design, SEAMOR Marine continues to use high-quality, Swiss-made, rugged, brushed DC motors in all of its ROVs. By choosing durable, top- quality motors, SEAMOR ROVs provide substantial power for their size and are built to last. Mechanical Developments Customers have always valued the compact size, easy- to-launch design and open framework of previous SEAMOR Marine ROVs. The mechanical engineering team wanted to retain these qualities while making improvements that cus- ics canister so that noise on each channel is kept to an ab- solute minimum. Not only does this improve the already high quality of video that the Steelhead and Chinook offer, it also provides a low-noise environment for third-party pe- ripherals, such as sonars, USBLs and the various underwater probes that can be carried by these systems. Lights, Lasers That Shine As the Steelhead is rated for 300 meters and the Chi- nook is rated for depths of up to 600 meters, lighting and lasers need to be well designed to illuminate the job site. Both ROV models have been upgraded to be equipped with fully dimmable, wide-baseline LED lights to minimize shad- ows. The lights are also brighter, providing 1,500 lumens per light, adding up to 3,000 lumens for the front lights. An additional 3,000 lumens from a pair of on/off repositionable auxiliary LED modules provide even more light where it is needed most. SEAMOR also strategically chose green light lasers, which are used for providing operators with distance tracking and scaling. Green lasers penetrate much farther underwater compared with red lasers, whose light is ab- sorbed faster in the subsea environment. (Top) Easy to deploy, the SEAMOR ROV systems come packed in rugged cases. (Bottom) The SEAMOR Chinook can be manu- ally launched from any deck or dock.