The disastrous oil spill that's now affecting the Gulf of Mexico has seriously raised people's level of awareness towards the idea of underwater oil drilling and the perils associated to this activity. Additionally, many people have become more interested in underwater ROV (remote operated vehicles), mechanized and “tool-ized” (as opposed to “weaponized”) devices that make underwater maintenance operations a lot safer.

And that's exactly the type of underwater robot we'll talk about as follows, namely the HD Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) from Schilling Robotics, a 125shp system that's currently completing deepwater sea trials.

According to its manufacturer, the ROV has a compact deck footprint, while providing design features and performance normally reserved for larger systems. The HD is designed for accommodating the specific needs of the Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair (IMR), drill support, and medium-duty construction markets.

The HD features Schilling’s unique power management system, remote diagnostics, and advanced automatic piloting modes that deliver superior operational stability and precise control. Based on integrated sub-systems, the HD reduces complexity, increases efficiency, and lowers the cost of owning and operating an ROV.

Additionally, the ROV includes dedicated interfaces for integrating intervention or survey tooling. Ergonomic and modular system design provides users with spacious access to the system for rapid maintenance, and the largest onboard capacity for installing additional intervention tools compared to any vehicle in this class. Combined with Schilling’s electric TMS system, the HD is capable of excursions up to 425 meters. This compact system is configured for ease of road transportation and rapid mobilization, while providing the flexibility to perform a wide variety of deepwater operations.

Naturally, the topic of pricing has not even been mentioned (typically, these things are extremely expensive), but those companies interested in such a product can easily contact the manufacturer directly in order to get a quotation.


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