MacArtney Tech for d’ROP Survey System
MacArtney Underwater Technology has supplied underwater technology products and systems to the Bibby HydroMap dynamic 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.
In recent years, with the expansion of offshore wind and cable interconnectors, there has been a significant increase in the requirements for cable depth of burial surveying in coastal areas, where compact ROVs struggle with the environmental conditions and where work-class ROVs add significant project expense. These challenges spawned the idea for the d’ROP which aims to provide a compact, efficient and stable platform for remote survey in dynamic coastal environments.
The d’ROP is developed and operated by subsea survey company Bibby HydroMap (UK) and built by Hydrobotics (UK). The d’ROP borrows and combines proven principles and technology from existing ROVs, ROTVs along with methods from the modern day dredging industry. According to Bibby Hydromap, the system is effectively a compact high powered work class ROVwithout all the expensive and complicated bits that are not needed for survey tasks. In tune with this overall design philosophy, the d’ROP mostly depends on off-the-shelf components - such as the ones supplied by MacArtney - in order to ensure simplicity and reliability of operation along with easy maintenance.
Versatility through connectivity
Whilst the system was designed primarily for precision-tracking of buried cables and pipelines, the telemetry and connectivity components supplied by MacArtney allows the d’ROP to accept multiple sensors simultaneously, including multibeam echosounders, magnetometers and sidescan sonar, with resultant data transmitted through a high-performance fibre-optic connection. This flexibility opens up the potential applications of the system and makes it relevant to stakeholders from a wide range of industries.
