Search
- Rescue - Recovery
When someone drowns,
the lives of many are often put at risk to locate
the victim. Using
the SubNet VideoRay with Sonar included instead
of divers or to accompany divers can cut the
risk. Side-scan sonar can be used to locate
targets. Then, the SubNet VideoRay can be
sent in to inspect the targets and send video
to the crews on land or on a boat.
Furthermore, the entire search can be
video recorded to help investigators.
The VideoRay can sustain cold waters and operates
in any visibility.
Search and Rescue missions are sad events, but
necessary to bring closure after an accident.
The VideoRay ROV has been used in several missions
to assist in locating drowning victims. VideoRay
was used for local authorities as a new search
and rescue tool that is an alternative to sending
divers in the water and risking lives in treacherous
conditions.
The
Benefit
The Complete Packag
ready to Mobilize |
Small,
rapid and efficient mobilisation
and deployment, small footprint
(The entire system weighs less than 70 pounds
and packs neatly in two rolling
Pelican cases that can be carried in a car
trunk or helicopter, or checked as airline
baggage and transported by one
person) makes the SubNet Services Search
and rescue VideoRay ROV package and attachments
such as Scanning Sonar extremely
cost effective, for Search or Search
and Rescue, Recovery. |
Quick
Hire
SubNet
can hire the system with or without Operators
who may if required also be CSWIP Inspection
Qualified.
Attachments
for Metal Thickness Readings, Sonar and
Mapping Software.
High Resolution Camera
DVD Picture, Position and Depth Recording
- Engineer Talkover |
By adding side scanning
sonar to the Subnet VideoRay Rov allows
us to guide the SubNet VideoRay to targets
until it is close enough to visually
identify them, making search and recovery
possible in low visibility waters. The Imagenex
851 features a very small transducer to image
targets from the viewpoint of VideoRay and captures
data digitally on a laptop computer
for easy playback.
In one example VideoRays were
run from land and boat to cover 800 square meters
of a lake floor, which is littered with 20-foot
trees and jagged rocks. Covering the area in
overlapping grids, VideoRay worked in tandem
with a scanning sonar to comb shadows and rock
beds. As the sonar found targets, VideoRay was
sent in to explore and map and record targets.
A typical search for a body
lost overboard from a boat began in the area
where a GPS reading was taken by friends driving
the boat. Targets can be captured from a side-scan
sonar image, then operating the VideoRay from
the boat, the targets can be found and seen
underwater through the VideoRay's camera eye
to record video of the search.
SubNet
Services using the VideoRay
Using The Desert Star Short
Base Line positioning system is ideal
for tracking, mapping and recording
inspected and surveyed locations because
of its accuracy of positioning - ROV distance
is measured to an accuracy well below
one meter and directional accuracy
is +/- 0.6 degrees with 40 foot transducer spacing.
SubNets integration of the Desert Star Pilot
system with the SubNet VideoRay advances the
VideoRay as a trust-worthy tool for
search and rescue in deep, shallow, and turbid
waters and for commercial work in open
waters, reefs, pipelines, and underwater structures.
Smaller
than a soda can and weighing even less, the
system is easily transported and mobilised anywhere
in the world with the SubNet VideoRay System.
A surface station (with Windows operating system)
computer running positioning software supports
the navigation by retrieving and displaying
positioning information relative to the transducers.
Connecting a GPS receiver and heading sensor
to the system can obtain absolute positions.
The SubNet Desert Star Pilot system can be set
up in minutes. SubNet makes this an
efficient low cost alternative to a Dive Crew
and equipment.
"The system will provide a reliable
tool for lengthy, methodical explorations underwater,"
says Marco Flagg, CEO of Desert Star Systems
LLC. "The Desert Star Pilot system gives
the pilot of the VideoRay the confidence of
knowing where the ROV is located, so he can
be more adventurous in unknown terrain."
Scanning Sonar on the ROV
With the Imagenex 851 scanning
sonar attached to the ROV it is possible to
let the sonar guide the VideoRay to
targets until it is close enough to
visually identify them, making search
and recovery possible in low visibility waters.
The Imagenex 851 features a very small transducer
to image targets from the viewpoint of VideoRay
and captures data digitally on a laptop computer
for easy playback.
Example:
Klamath sheriff hails high-tech
gear that found three drowning victims on lake
floor Idaho man's side-scan sonar-equipped boat
has found a dozen victims around West this year
October 6 - High-tech gear that helped locate
three drowning victims at the bottom of Crescent
and Odell Lakes over the weekend is "an
incredible resource," Klamath County Sheriff
Tim Evenger said Tuesday
"I
would say it's an incredible resource, and for
some of these families, it's a godsend to be
able to put a closure to their loved one's drowning,"
Evenger said after the side-scan sonar-equipped
boat brought in by Gene and Sandy Ralston of
Kuna, Idaho, found the three victims in three
days of looking.
And
the sheriff said while there's closure for all
involved, there's a direct financial benefit
as well to the families of some victims.
When
a body isn't recovered, "the death investigation
is left open, and a lot of times, families are
not able to get benefits associated with the
person until the death certificate is issued,"
Evenger said.
Two
of the bodies already have been recovered from
the murky depths, and a third such operation
is planned later this week. in their tank,"
Evenger said. "We're still assessing it."
The remote-operated vehicle (ROV) is likely
to be put in the water Wednesday or Thursday
to better define the body's location, the sheriff
said.
I would say it's an incredible resource, and
for some of these families, it's a godsend to
be able to put a closure to their loved one's
drowning.
Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evenger |
