MacArtney Underwater Technology has supplied underwater technology products and systems to the Bibby HydroMap’s Remotely Operated Platform (d’ROP).
The MacArtney scope of supply included a Moog Focal type 176 slip ring (electrical and optical) for the appurtenant winch system and Moog-Focal fibre optic multiplexer boards, MacArtney OptoLink fibre optic connectors and several SubConn connectors and connectivity assemblies for interfacing various systems and sensors on board the d’ROP vehicle.
The d’ROP is developed and operated by Bibby HydroMap (UK) and built by Hydrobotics (UK). According to Bibby Hydromap, “The system is effectively a compact high powered work class ROV – but with all the expensive and complicated bits that are not needed for survey tasks stripped off.”
The telemetry and connectivity components supplied by MacArtney allow the d’ROP to accept multiple sensors simultaneously, including multibeam echo sounders, magnetometers and sidescan sonars, with resultant data transmitted through a high-performance fibre optic connection, the company explained.
The d’ROP is initially designed for operation from the new semi-SWATHE research vessel, Bibby Athena and will be deployed through the vessel moonpool. The d’ROP relies upon the support vessel for forward propulsion, a heave-compensated winch and combined LARS for its vertical control, while the on-board vehicle thrusters maintain heading and fine adjustments to the lateral position.