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Underwater drones can be used for many purposes within the infra branch.

In order to make this demonstrable what our drones can do, we are currently in the process of performing a test program, together with the Ministry of Waterways and Public Works, where the underwater drone is used for various applications, under diverse circumstances. For example your assets can be inspected under water in a safe and durable way without the need to make used of divers.

For example piers, fendering and dam walls can be inspected easily. And what about wet lines, pumping stations and sumps under ground level that can now be inspected effortlessly by use of the underwater drone without needing to pump them dry?

With an underwater drone, stretches of pipelines larger than 250 mm can be inspected without taking them out of the production process.

The underwater drone has been applied relatively recently in the infra world. As such, the product is still relatively unknown. As a result, some clients are still a bit reluctant towards the underwater drone. Our partners in the Infra are struggling with the question for which purposes the underwater drone can be sensibly deployed.

These test results will provide a clear under water image of the usability of the underwater drone within the Infra. The results of this test program are expected to be published, bundled in a report by the end of 2020.

If you are interested in what our drones can do, contact us here for a consultation or free demonstration. Or follow us on LinkedIn to stay on top of our developments.

Meanwhile, we have been able to gain experience within various projects, regarding the inspection of pipelines.

The pipelines do not need to be pumped dry in order to inspect them and the production process can usually continue unabated during inspection. This saves a lot of time!

With our smallest underwater drones we can move inside in pipelines with a cross-section from 250 mm. With the underwater drone we have a reach of 900 meters maximum in the pipeline.

The underwater drone finds its way through the full pipeline and documents the inspection on video. In case of poor visibility, we document the results of the inspection by use of sonar which provides a nice picture. The sonar can see cracks and damages in the pipes in poor visibility.

The drone could also be equipped with a laser, that can directly measure the damage. Thus allowing for a more efficient reparation if necessary.

During the inspection, our clients can follow the images live on the extra screens.

Our clients usually personally indicate which images they appreciate, for us to focus on these.
The underwater drones can also be designed standard with sensors to measure the water quality during the inspections.

Are you interested in how we can inspect pipelines for you? Request a free demonstration here. Or follow us on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with our developments.

Unfortunately, the visibility in our inland waterways is not always equally good.

This is caused by the quality of the water or by, for example, the turbidity of the water. This turbidity can be created when dredging spoil is being moved by passing ships. Under favorable circumstances, the visibility under water can be as good as up to 4 meters, but in many cases it is just a few centimeters!

The cameras in our underwater drone can see just as much as the human eye and the images are being shown live on the screens that we use during our inspections. The camera of the underwater drone enables us to approach to the objects under water up a couple of centimeters. This way you can always show an object and observe details.

In order to create an overall picture and visibility under water under the most extreme circumstances, we deploy a so called ‘Forward Looking Imaging Sonar’.

This sonar gives us a good picture under water and can see over a distance of up to 60 meters. The sonar is not only a super auxiliary to visualize objects to the smallest detail, it is also a great auxiliary to gain orientation during the activities in open water in case the underwater drone is not equipped with a GPS localization system.

The sonar works best if it can be moved like you would do, for example with a flashlight in the dark. You move the light beam to where you require visibility. It is for that reason that the sonar on the Deeptrekker underwater drones show their best side. The Deeptrekker underwater drones have a unique pivotable head to rotate the camera and sonar 260 degrees across a vertical shaft. That is to create this particular movement that makes the use of the sonar such worthwhile.

Taking a look under water was never this easy!

If you have further questions, contact us here. Or follow us on LinkedIn to stay up-to date with our developments!

On the waterbed many unidentified and non-identified objects can be found.

Those unidentified objects can be dangerous, and only some of these objects do not form a hazard to waterway users.

Many of these objects do form a hazard as they, for example, protrude from the bottom and thus are dangerous to swimmers and shipping. Especially, as we are dealing with extremely low water level nowadays, that continue longer than we are used to, objects in the water form a direct threat to users of waterways.

Under water drones and under water robots are regularly used to look for and identify unknown objects. In order to properly perform these activities, we make use of the imaging sonar on our underwater drones.

Using the sonar we search the water bed in a predetermined area.