How do we train our drone operators?

Posted on 14 September 20213 November 2021 by admin

To perform the best possible inspections for you, H2O Drones must employ well-trained operators who can get the best quality out of the ROVs! But how do we ensure that quality remains paramount? And how can H2O Drones get the best out of its staff? With us you will learn different ways of working with technology and everything that comes with it!

Experience in field!

For starters, we don’t just select enthusiastic staff. It is important to recruit staff with a background in the field. This can go in different directions such as:

A background in hydraulic engineering
Experience with (firefighting) diving
Experience with ROVs (in the offshore industry)

This is an important criteria for us; you need to know what you are looking for underwater, and what it is supposed to look like! This makes it easy to detect anomalies, such as possible defects or damage.

Learning to work with underwater drones and technology

After finding a suitable candidate, it is important to get along with the ROVs! As you can read in an earlier blog, you don’t just learn this. A number of steps have to be taken before you can really get to grips with the drones.With experience in hydraulic engineering, for example, a lot is known about underwater assets and what they should look like. For divers, it is easier to plan a route and know exactly what is going on underwater. Those with previous experience with ROVs know well how to operate them and the way images are best taken.

With all these different experiences, it is possible to get a lot of quality out of H2O Drones’ equipment. But even then, good practice is needed!

Working with a sonar…

The above sentence says it all. Working with the sonar is and remains a great challenge for almost everyone. The sonar provides a completely different picture than people often expect, and it can be difficult to keep an overview, especially in the early stages.

Here, too, we are happy to learn how to navigate by means of reference points. In a next step, inspection can also be done via sonar, by being able to read off deviations and conspicuous points.

In addition to fixed objects, moving images should also be able to be captured well, and kept in view. For example, you move the drone along with an object, which you see on the sonar.

Finally, the combination between the full-HD camera and the sonar must be integrated. By switching regularly between the camera and the sonar, you get a full picture of the objects underwater.

Processing raw information into a report!

After obtaining all the images, the most important thing remains: processing all the information obtained.

The information must be available and clear to all parties involved. Often this is done in a report. All images are analyzed and deviations are described.

These reports can be prepared on-site by the operator himself and will never take longer than an hour to make. When these are made immediately, it is clear what needs to be looked for, and this saves working hours on all sides. Because the operator creates the reports himself, it is certain that the right images are used, and nothing is overlooked.

In this way, the best and most reliable information is always ready to be sent to the customers and stakeholders.

Would you like to get in touch with one of our operators? Then contact us here!

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The Gasometer: An undiscovered underwater world

Posted on 7 September 20213 November 2021 by admin

The Gasometer – more than meets the eye

In the Landschaftspark in Duisburg, a whole new world was created in an old industrial place. During the industrial era in Germany, it was one of the main places, where they made steel and dug up coal. Nowadays, it’s a big museum that allows visitors to walk through the whole park and even walk into the factories. While most parts of the factories are still like they’ve been decades ago and equipped with the original machinery, one part is changed completely.

The old gas tank, the Gasometer, is now filled with 21 million litres of water and is now used for diving. They offer private diving courses, but also allow people to come for an hour and dive freely. Moreover, the policemen and firefighters of the areas close by visit the old gas tank to train for rescue mission.

What did we do at the Gasometer

If you look at it this way, an old gas tank to dive in is not that exciting. However, the Gasometer offers more! On the bottom of the gas tank, is a mysterious world that can be discovered. And of course, we wanted to explore that with our drones. So we, as a team, packed our drones and went to the Gasometer. Unsure of what we would find but excited to use the drone for something new, besides inspections. And we were not disappointed! For us, the most important difference to other projects, was the water quality. As we mostly work in rivers and seas, we are only exposed to murky water. Of course, in the Gasometer that was different, and it was one of the only times where we could really use our camera.

What did we find ?

In our new YouTube Video, you can get an overview of our findings. But there was so much more!

From a ship wreck, to an old airplane to a cow. Everything that you can imagine can be found on the ground of the old gas tank. We were amazed by the whole atmosphere. From above the surface, where we were standing you could see the whole tank. Which seems even bigger from the inside than the outside. Moreover, there are barely any lights and the main light is coming from the open door, through the dark a kind of magical atmosphere is created.

This magical atmosphere, can also be found underwater. We were able to swim through an old airplane with our drones and every spot offered a new and unexpected surprise!

Overall we can say, that we are grateful that we could join this unique experience!

Do you want more information about our work and our drones? Contact us here

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Clear view in wastewater treatment plants

Posted on 31 August 20213 November 2021 by admin

In a nutshell: Wastewater treatment plants clean a community’s wastewater so that it can be recirculated.

But, if you take a closer look, the purification is a longer process in which the water passes through different basins. This week we want to explain the process of wastewater treatment plants and especially why the use of an underwater drone are more efficient here than divers.

How does a wastewater treatment plant work?

The wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant passes through 7 different basins before it is completely cleaned.

Wastewater pumping station: In this step, sewers convey the wastewater to pumping stations. The pumping station then transports the wastewater under pressure into the treatment plant.
Screening plant: The water is flushed over the rake. This removes the initial and coarse impurities from the water. This includes, for example, food residues, hygiene articles and the like. The sorted out waste, is then dried out and taken to the nearest landfill or waste incinerator.
Sand trap: In the sand trap, smaller particles are filtered out of the wastewater, such as sand, stones, etc.. The water is transported over long channels at a speed of 30 cm/second. As a result, the smaller particles settle to the bottom of the grit trap. Thereupon, these are also dried again and then disposed of.
Primary clarifier: In the primary clarifier, lighter sludge particles are filtered out of the water. For this purpose, the water velocity is reduced to 1.5 cm/second. Sludge particles then settle to the bottom of the water and are led through sludge funnels to the sludge treatment where the sludge is later reused. In this phase not only the sludge is filtered out of the water but also other particles such as grease. These particles do not settle on the bottom but on the surface of the water. This, however, allows them to be easily removed.
Aeration tank: After all visible particles have been filtered out of the water, the invisible particles are removed in the aeration tank. For this purpose, microorganisms are added to the water, which then form an activated sludge. The aeration tank is divided into two parts, the first of which is kept low in oxygen to remove phosphorus. In the second part, a lot of oxygen is then added to the aeration tank, allowing the purifying bacteria to multiply.
Secondary sedimentation tank: In this step, the sludge added to the aeration tank is removed. Here, the water stands in a basin so that the sludge can slowly settle again. Half of the sludge is transported back to the aeration tank and the other half is added to the sludge treatment. After this step, the water is cleaned again.
Sludge treatment: In the last section of the treatment plant, the sludge is dried and then further processed or disposed of.

Our work in wastewater treatment plants

Sewage treatment plants also need to be inspected. Each tank can show damage and a regular inspection can prevent major repairs. However, the problem is that most sewage treatment plants are running and are not shut down. This prevents divers from entering the tanks. At the moment, however, this is the method used. The basins are stopped so that divers can perform the inspection. This results in losses for the treatment plant, which means that inspections are only carried out when there is suspicion of damage and not preventively.

But it is the preventive inspection that is important. During an inspection with our drones, the sewage treatment plant can continue to run and does not have to be interrupted. The cloudy visibility caused by the sludge is not a problem because of our sonar. And our drone can also handle currents. This makes it easier to carry out regular inspections. And divers no longer have to climb into sewage!

Do you have any questions about our work in wastewater treatment plants? Feel free to contact us here.

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Hoe kan een ROV dataverwerking optimaliseren? – H2O Drones

Posted on 24 August 20213 November 2021 by Karst

A ROV or underwater drone has many strengths compared to traditional inspection methods. The most important points are listed below:

Cost-saving
Safety
Range and visibility underwater
Data + data processing

Further on in this blog you will read exactly why an underwater drone is so good at collecting data and processing it.
Data-driven work is of great importance and will only become more important in the future.

Collecting data with an ROV

Data collection with an underwater drone is very easy! As soon as the drone is started up and in the water, you are already collecting data. All the images you take are automatically stored on an SD card. This includes both the camera and the sonar images.
All additional measurements that you can see on the controller are also included and stored. You can see at what height and angle the drone is underwater, which way the drone is facing (via a compass) and how far the camera is adjusted up or down.

This way you can always see everything exactly. By combining all the data, you get a total picture of the data, which you can use later for analyses and any follow-up steps.

Save and review the collected data

When your inspection is complete, you can remove the SD card from the controller and insert it into a computer or laptop. If you remove the images from the card immediately, you will be ready for the next inspection!
As soon as the images are on your computer, you have a large amount of raw data, i.e. all the images you have made are in it.

With all the raw data you can of course show a lot, but an inspection often revolves around a few highlights that will appear in damage reports. So you can easily edit, cut and paste the images in programs and make sure that all the highlights of the inspection are there.

Data processing

All data on the computer can be freely processed. All data and measurements made enable you to make a precise analysis of a possible problem and its extent. The camera images give a clear picture of what is happening to the asset underwater.
The sonar images can also be freely edited. You can increase the playback speed, zoom in on a possible anomaly and stop the images to take a closer look.

This is often what the sonar images look like in an analysis:

With all these possibilities, writing a damage report or a report is easy, and you have a lot of certainty because everything is based entirely on figures and measurements.

Don’t want to make a report because the sonar images are difficult to read? We can do that for you too! We have been analysing the images and processing them into a report for years!

Follow-up plans and periodic inspections

After the image analyses, you have been able to draw up a (possible) damage report, and a follow-up plan can be made.

If repairs are necessary, they can be carried out!

Perhaps the most important thing of all is the measurements and precise data you have obtained:
It is perfectly possible to inspect periodically. You know exactly at what height, depth and angle the damage was during the previous inspection. You can inspect these again some time later with the same inspection. This way, you can compare the images and accurately determine what the differences are and when action is really necessary!

Conclusion:

With an ROV, you can obtain precise data. You can analyse and process this data, draw up reports and carry out periodic inspections from here. With the data you have acquired, everything is a lot more precise, and you can always fall back on figures and data!

Would you like a demonstration to see how data is acquired and what it can be used for later? Then get in touch with us!

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Signi Search Dogs and H2O Drones: a collaboration

Posted on 6 July 2021 by Karst

Signi Search Dogs is a foundation that searches for missing persons. Recently, there has been a cooperation between this search and rescue team and H2O Drones. Dutch waters are not always safe for divers and sometimes unpredictable. “That’s where an underwater drone comes in handy,” says Esther van Neerbos from Signi Search Dogs.

“We are a foundation that locates missing people. We started with dogs and eventually built up a whole team, because we don’t just want to locate people, we want to bring them home,” says Van Neerbos. It is simply not always easy for divers to operate safely anywhere in the Netherlands. “That’s why the use of underwater drones is valuable for us,” adds Van Neerbos.

She says that working with the drones has gone smoothly. “We used it once to find a missing person and to look for things that could serve as evidence in a murder case,” Van Neerbos says. The underwater drone also found evidence there, which is now being investigated by the police.

Large and deep ponds often take a long time to cover, she says. “That’s why we used a drone to cover more area in a shorter time. The lake was 23 metres deep and then it’s perfect to have a drone that can swim everywhere quickly.” She goes on to tell of a mission that took place near a shipping channel. The same kind of mission that could be dangerous for divers. “Then, if a ship approached, we could just retrieve the drone. Otherwise, shipping traffic had to be stopped there.”

The advantage of drones is that they can sometimes get to places where a person’s safety is at risk. “We also recently had a missing person stuck in a weir. That is already an unsafe place for people in general. It was difficult for divers to get there, but the drone can reach them safely. It’s nice when it can be done safely,” says Van Neerbos.

The insight the drone provides during a mission is valuable, Van Neerbos agrees. “It’s just super imaging what the drone does. The images are crisp and the sonar works well. We had some experience with sonar ourselves, so working with a drone is even easier.” H2O Drones also provided the foundation with courses so they could familiarise themselves with the underwater drones.

“A combination of our work and that with the drone is almost perfect. When we have a hint of an interesting research area with the boat, we set a buoy there so that the drone can investigate the area quickly and efficiently,” says Van Neerbos. “Then, when we have found something of value, we have to investigate it in sections. We can’t keep the divers underwater all the time. A drone, on the other hand, can, and if we have found something important, we can investigate undisturbed for a couple of hours,” she adds.

Van Neerbos says that working with H2O Drones makes the job much easier. “The underwater drone serves as a kind of link between the underwater world and what is happening above water. It gives more dynamics,” she says.

She talks about her work with passion. “Our foundation has been around for about sixteen years, but we have been doing this work for almost thirty years. The most important motive for us is that we can give the bereaved some form of reassurance in dealing with a missing person. That’s why our team is so motivated and we always give our best.”

Lower costs with an underwater drone!

Posted on 21 June 20211 July 2021 by Karst

These are tough times for many companies. In the COVID-19 period, there is often less work to be found, people are less willing to attend demonstrations and there are generally fewer investments. This often makes it harder to survive. But what if an investment can save or bring in a lot of money? Is it worth using reserves to save costs in the long run? See here whether buying an underwater drone can be really rewarding!

Asset management costs without inspections

Assets must be inspected regularly to prevent large-scale maintenance and to deal quickly with minor problems. Often, the government also stipulates that assets must be inspected periodically (every 10-25 years).

To save costs, an asset such as a bridge culvert may not be inspected for a year. This means that the costs are lower in that year, but it can cause problems in the long run!

It is precisely the large cost items that must be avoided in uncertain times, and so the focus can be on small preventative inspections to avoid this!

Costs of traditional inspections

Traditional inspections are carried out with divers, by engineering firms. You can hire this independent party to inspect the asset.

The cost of hiring is often arranged at a fixed price per day, or a fixed price for the total service.

Hiring means low costs, but these are costs that are often asked for. Certainly in the short term this will be a solution to avoid high costs, but is this also something for the long term?

Costs of inspections with an underwater drone

Unlike a diving team, you can also buy an underwater drone!

Buying an ROV is, of course, a one-off expense that is higher than hiring a team. But in the long run it can certainly save costs.

When you buy an underwater drone with sonar, the cost is around €60,000. This is a substantial investment, but one that will pay for itself within a few inspections!

A diving team always costs at least €2,500, and based on a simple calculation you will have earned back your ROV within 25 inspections!

Staff costs are always lower than hiring externally, so this can be a really good option to keep costs down in the long run. Also, a drone provides additional application possibilities, which can be a differentiator from competitors.

So if you need to inspect regularly, it may be smart to bring in expertise! This really does save money in the long run, something that is important for every company!

Renting an underwater drone

Should this one-off investment not fit into the budget, that’s no problem! In order to also help the smaller budgets, or companies that do not need to inspect as often, we also offer our services.

This means that you can rent our drone. However, an advanced drone, with sonar, can sometimes be difficult to operate.

That is why we offer our drone experts at every inspection! These are always inspectors with a background in hydraulic engineering, underwater inspection or diving! So they always know what to look for and how to proceed.

This also saves you a lot of time, because we take all the work off your hands. This does not mean that you have no control! You can take a look yourself, and highlight or adjust certain aspects. The reporting can be done entirely by our team, or the data can be transferred to you.

It might be useful to know that we ‘only’ charge €2150 per day, which is often cheaper than for example diving teams!

ROVs can work best in a data-oriented way!

An underwater drone has underwater control through many instruments that can be applied. Because you can always watch the underwater images from the shore, you have complete control! The images you take are also stored so that they can always be viewed later. Both the images of the camera and those of the sonar can be viewed!

This way, working by touch is no longer necessary! With a camera and sonar, you can always look underwater and work in a data-oriented way. This gives the best results for reports and maintenance planning.

The data can therefore always be looked back on, and it is possible to inspect exactly the same places every year via sensors. This way, you can see your position in the water live, and exactly overlap with a previous inspection. This gives the best results in terms of wear and possible damage.

The stored data can be used in many programmes. For example, the sonar images can be stored in a programme, viewed and deviations can be measured. This shows the exact extent of a problem, and a plan can be written to solve it. (In the picture you can see a sonar image from one of our inspections, with a straight line to get a good view of an anomaly!)

So you can always rely on reliable data and in the long run really save costs! You invest for the future, and the future can be brought into your home with underwater drones!

Do you have questions about the possibilities of an ROV in your area of expertise, or would you like to know more about the costs? Then get in contact with us! To see how we work with underwater drones, you can follow us on social media!

Benefits of an ROV: Safety, accessibility and much more!

Posted on 16 June 20217 October 2022 by Karst

In many ways, an underwater drone or ROV is the perfect instrument to use for inspections. In fact, there are too many distinctive points to emphasise. This is therefore a subject that will be divided into several blogs! In this blog we will talk about:

Safety
Accessibility
Visibility

Safety is the first priority with underwater drones!

ROVs provide safety in many different fields. There is safety underwater and on the shore.

An underwater drone can be used anywhere that a diver can reach. Situations that are (possibly) unsafe for divers can be inspected with an ROV. This does not mean that an underwater drone needs to take over all the inspections from a diver! An ROV can also be used for a pre-dive inspection. With this inspection, a diving area can be declared safe, thus providing certainty about the situation of the diver.

The diver can also be monitored with the drone. By keeping the diver in sight at all times, he can be helped from the shore by pointing out possible dangers that the diver has not seen. It is also possible to keep an eye on the line to which the diver is attached; if the diver gets stuck on something, it is easy to see this with an extra pair of eyes underwater.

Improving safety underwater also increases the chance of a successful inspection. This often means that safety above water is also better. There are far fewer uncertainties, and assets can be properly inspected. Assets with a bad state of repair can be maintained in time.

Underwater accessibility with an ROV

There is also a safety element in accessibility! Professional divers may be able to dive deep, but because of decompression sickness they need a lot of time to get back to the surface. It can therefore happen that an inspection is not completely finished and has to be carried out in several parts.

An ROV works on batteries, which can last up to 8 hours! So inspections underwater can be carried out for much longer. And in case the batteries of the drone or the controller run out, they can be charged or exchanged for spare batteries in 3 minutes. So you can get back to inspecting in no time.

Also, an ROV is much less limited to a maximum depth! Often the maximum depth depends on the length of the cable. Our ROVs can dive up to 300 metres deep! Something that is actually not applicable in Dutch waters!

When it comes down to it, what would you rather have?

An accident with an ROV, resulting in financial loss.
An accident with a diver, resulting in serious injuries or worse…

You can send an ROV into any situation, in the worst case it will cost you money. So you never put people’s lives at risk!

See up to 60 metres ahead in murky water?

Visibility is actually the most important thing in a successful inspection! Logically, to inspect you need to be able to see something.

But often the visibility underwater is quite poor, especially close to the bottom. If visibility is less than one metre, an inspection will take a very long time and there is a good chance that crucial points will be missed. Certainly matters that can only be measured at a greater distance require good visibility.

But when it is not there? Then you see just as little with an ROV as with a diver. The camera is of 4k quality, which is really good. But this camera cannot see through mud, just as the eyes of a human cannot.

Our ROVs can be equipped with sonar! With the sonar, a full inspection can still be carried out in waters with poor visibility. The sonar can even be set to look 60 metres ahead. (This is further than the length of an Olympic swimming pool!). In this way, an inspection where a wider spectrum is needed can be carried out properly.

The sonar can be viewed live, and adjustment during an inspection is therefore always possible. Have you spotted something striking or abnormal on the sonar? Then you can always sail to the location and switch to the camera to get a close-up view. By regularly switching between sonar and camera, you always have the right image with you!

In short: An ROV offers safety, security, can handle large jobs and always has visibility!

This makes an underwater drone often the right choice for your job. Which underwater drone is most suitable? That depends entirely on your field of work. We will be happy to discuss the possibilities with you, and look for the best options, even if this means that you do not need certain options!

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Ghost Diving and H2O Drones clean it up together!

Posted on 9 June 202118 June 2021 by Karst

Gear in the sea: Ghost Diving and H2O Drones clean it up together

H2O Drones is now a proud sponsor of the Ghost Diving charity. This is a foundation dedicated to cleaning up the sea. They fish fishing gear out of the water in, among others, the North Sea, but also all over the world.

Chairman Pascal van Erp has been in the business for a long time. “We are actually a group of divers who have been active in the North Sea since 2007/2009, for example to fish fishing gear out of the water. That escalated a little, because more and more people joined in. Then we transformed into a foundation and we keep growing. We now have about 50 divers and a core team.”

Giant pollution in the North Sea

Van Erp explains that their goal is not something you can avoid. At the bottom of the North Sea, there are a lot of shipwrecks with polluting fishing gear. “Really an incredible amount. Around ten thousand.” There was a lot of fishing in the North Sea in the 1950s and, due to various mistakes, the bottom was contaminated with fishing gear. For example, it goes overboard or is left behind. “It’s so full of gear there, it’s almost impossible to describe. The problem is the material of the fishing gear. There are some studies that describe the sustainability of fishing gear, but it takes so long for it to break down that those studies are more suggestions than facts. That’s where we came from.”

Ghost Diving is particularly active in the North Sea and in the Mediterranean Sea. “If we have to go far away for an operation, we immediately turn it into a week-long project. For example, when we had to recover a net from a fish farm in Italy. We had to lift this gigantic three-ton net from 35 metres. In the end, we succeeded with six divers.”

Aggressive fishermen

The problem is so big that the foundation is doing everything it can to combat it. Sometimes, however, they are thwarted by fisheries. “They don’t want it to get out that it’s so dirty. Sometimes there is even some aggression when we are working. The fishermen just want to work at any cost. In Belgium, people didn’t want to work with us because they got threats from fisheries if they did.”

Ghost Diving also works with environmental organisations such as Greenpeace. From Europe to South Africa, they have helped with jobs. “Busy we are, unfortunately. I have just returned from Egypt and will soon be leaving for Greece. When fishing, a boat loses fishing gear. If you consider how much fishing takes place in the world, you can imagine how much pollution is caused by this gear.”

New teammate: underwater drone
Some time ago, Ghost Diving was approached by Deep Trekker about using an underwater drone. “They sent a drone to us that we worked with briefly for a while,” says Ghost Diving’s director. Karst Beens, director of H2O Drones, saw this pass by and became interested in the foundation. “He then called us later that he wanted to enter into a sponsorship.” H2O Drones is based in the Netherlands and not in Canada, like Deep Trekker. For Van Erp, this is a big advantage for the cooperation. “It saves for us in communication and location. We needed someone with a lot of expertise and understanding of the water world and Karst has more than proved that. He has already gone with us a couple of times, together with the drone. Those were very successful days. It was very useful that he was with us, because we knew nothing about the drone. After such a day we were convinced that H2O Drones had to be our partner in crime.”

H2O Drones ensures progress

Van Erp emphasises that knowledge about drones and the underwater world is very important to their foundation. “The help we get from H2O Drones is very valuable to us. They offer the right support and have the right knowledge. When we use it in our environment, we get a lot of positive reactions and notice the curiosity about the underwater drones.”

According to Ghost Diving, the drones are ideal for the continuity of the work. In some places in the North Sea, it is sometimes too dangerous to dive or divers are not allowed to dive at all. A drone is then ideal for inspecting the underwater environment. “The divers are often in danger underwater, because water is unpredictable.” A drone can keep an eye on the divers or even do some of the diver’s work if the conditions are too risky to dive. “It also saves a lot of money and a lot of time, because we don’t have to send a whole team underwater, for example. A drone can watch everything and ensure safety. Even in murky water, because they are equipped with sonar.”

Drones get a bad name, and we are fed up with it!

Posted on 1 June 202118 June 2021 by Karst

For the umpteenth time, we got confronted with the bad name of drones. We are talking to a new client who has had very bad experiences with underwater drones and does not want to do anything with them anymore…

They have bought a machine where nice promises of the selling party led to high expectations that afterwards were not fulfilled in any way. Of course, they share these bad experiences with their network and that is how the underwater drone gets a bad image.

Completely unjustified! Why unjustified? We are happy to tell you more below.

Our customers are spread across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and have often had to deal with a ‘bad’ underwater drone. Often underwater drones from the cheaper price class with a promising 4k camera that can make great images. Often promotional videos of these kinds of drones are published on YouTube in beautiful clear water of ‘Mediterranean’ quality.

That seems too good to be true!

YES, it is often too good to be true. In the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the water is so turbid that visibility is very limited, which means that you can hardly see under water with a camera. On top of that, even if you have one metre of visibility under water, you are completely disoriented under water because you can only see one metre, or very often even less, in front of you and you really don’t know where you are under water!

We are of the opinion that an underwater drone only provides added value if it has the right tools such as sonar.

And what are you doing with an underwater drone if you can’t see anything and you don’t know where you are?

Of course, this can be a two-way street. Customers often have no idea what is needed underwater and this can be labelled as a ‘blind purchase’. But also, little information is given about this from companies selling the underwater drones! The images you see on the website are often of crystal clear water, something you can only see in a swimming pool in our area!

Many drones are offered at very low prices through web shops, often from Chinese manufacture for less than €1000 delivered to your home. This is of course dirt cheap… but what do you get for it? What can you do with it and how long do these products last? All these machines have a reasonable camera and that is it. Products are of very poor quality, have a very short technical lifespan and refuse to work after just a few uses.

“Looks nice in the cupboard, anyone can look at it”.

The other day we had a conversation with an employee of a public Search and Rescue team, who stated that he already owned a drone that was purchased only a year ago. It turned out to be a cheap drone with only a camera that they couldn’t use at all. In other words, it didn’t work for a single second.

The drone is therefore stored full-time in a cupboard, where only dust gets to it. A waste of investment, time and money.

Market leader.

Even the market leader (manufacturer and sales) in the field of underwater drones is making a mess of things. They sell packages that the customer has to put together himself and make operational. In these packages, the customer can also choose from various accessories that very often do not do what they promise. There is no physical service point in Europe, and the quality of each component is unacceptable for professional use.

As far as we are concerned, this is never the solution to ensure the proper deployment of a professional underwater drone. Because in this way, even the good companies are threatened by a bad image of the products in this emerging market. Despite many different attempts to clear the name of the underwater drones, unfortunately we still hear far too often of bad experiences.

This slows down market developments and technology, so that underwater drones often do not get the chance they deserve.

The H2O Drones difference:

With us you buy the right machine and we will be happy to tell you more. Our core business is safety and quality under water. This is only possible if the drones are of good quality and the operators are well trained to get the optimal result from inspections. The quality of working under water is not only determined by a well-equipped underwater drone, but certainly also by the operator.

Without these two points of attention, inspections and rescues with underwater drones are not good enough and they often remain on the shelf as a misbuy… And this while underwater drones really are the future.

H2O Drones does give good service!

We only sell you a machine if we are convinced that it will add value for you. No fairy tales!
Together with you we put together the right machine for you in our sales and rental process.
Always quick repair possibilities or a replacement machine!
Course and training to help everyone get the most out of the underwater drone.
In a consultation we look together at your ideal composition of the drone!
If necessary, we will help you with inspections!

We like to show that it is possible. Drones are the future and nobody has to wait to get the future in their house.

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Underwater drones are crucial for underwater inspections and always work: SAFE, EFFECTIVE AND DATA-ORIENTED

In the years to come, underwater drones will be used more and more, so you will undoubtedly come across them. Do not let us make you think you have a bad experience, ask us what is best for you and your company!

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A underwater dam inspection with the sonar.

Posted on 25 May 202118 June 2021 by Karst

Recently, our services were deployed to inspect a steel dam wall. This was due to a subsidence of the pavement behind the quay. The possible cause of the subsidence was unknown, the dam wall above water showed no defects.

During our inspection it appeared that locally in front of the dam wall large sink holes had been created by the propeller action of mooring vessels. At one of these locations the dam wall appeared to have partially collapsed at a depth of 6 metres below water level. The dam wall had sagged by more than 80 centimetres towards the front. This was the direct cause of the subsidence of the pavement behind the quay.

Poor visibility due to turbid water!

During the inspection, it soon became clear that the sheet piling could not be inspected with just a pair of eyes or a camera. Visibility was limited to approximately 40 centimetres. Turbid water restricted visibility, meaning that defects that could only be observed over longer lengths could not be recognised with the naked eye. Hence our claim:

The right sonar is indispensable for a good inspection!

Sonar images from the ROV

At first glance, the sonar images also showed nothing wrong with the dam wall. This was actually a confirmation of the camera images. We did not discover any cracks, fractures or broken elements.

However, there was something wrong, something we only found at the end of the inspection!

We found a failure in the dam wall at a depth of 5 metres! Above water, the dam wall had been held in place by the anchors, but 5 metres below water level the dam wall had partially collapsed. This could only be seen when zooming out on the sonar, which makes it possible to compare images at a longer distance.

Because of the longer distance, it was easy to see that the dam wall itself was no longer straight. We were able to measure this out nicely with a programme!

What made this mission a success?

The mission was actually a success due to three factors:

-Revolution ROV

-Sonar

-Experience of the drone operator

Without sonar images, we would never have noticed the curvature of the dam wall. This can only be seen from a greater distance. Eyes alone or a camera would therefore not have been able to detect it. This is why we use the sonar of Blueprint Subsea!

To exploit the qualities of a good sonar, it is important that it is mounted on the right underwater drone! In this case, the Revolution ROV contains accessories that allow it to hang straight in the water, in the same place. This is exactly why images can be viewed well, during and after the inspection.

This is also due to the rotating head in the Revolution! This allows you to remain suspended in the water while moving the front of the drone. The head of the drone contains the camera and sonar. This way you can move from one spot to another and get the ideal images from an inspection.

The last point is of course also important: The experience of the drone operator.

For example, our drone operator saw that there was a bend when he zoomed out with the sonar. By using experience and looking for different possible causes of a problem, we get a lot of results. In addition, our operator had also mastered the drone so well that the right images were made. This simply means that the machine itself is not enough, because even with the best equipment, people still need to look closely at the images. The underwater drone is the best tool for this!

It is actually an easy conclusion: without the sonar on the Revolution, this would never have happened!

Processing in reports!

It is nice that the images have been made, but then? We worked this out for our client in a report in which the exact cause and effect are elaborated. The dam wall had partially collapsed, which led to subsidence behind the dam wall!

In addition to our report, we also gave advice on how to solve the problem and prevent it from happening again in the future. No strings attached, but H2O Drones has over 30 years of experience with underwater work and understanding of the assets. This way we help to make the world a better and safer place with every assignment!

You can see the image report in our YouTube video below!

Do you also want to inspect a dam wall? Or an (online) demo? Please contact us about the possibilities! Follow us on social media to stay informed about our developments! Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.