The new ROV concept has its roots in an idea that Sperre
owner Thor Olav Sperre believes will bring much-needed innovation to the
somewhat stagnant, “old-fashioned” field of ROV design and manufacture.
thrusters can swivel round their own axes to provide optimal driving power in
the direction of travel as well as compensate efficiently for current and cable
drag. This offers an improvement in performance of anything from 30 – 50
percent in comparison with all conventional ROVs currently in production. This
in turn means that the H-ROV will be particularly suitable for subsea dynamic
positioning and autotraction operations.
capable of rotating independently of the H-ROV’s main chassis and the thruster
platform, allowing the H-ROV to simply redefine “forward” and “aft”,
and thus enabling more equipment to be mounted and employed on operational tasks,
as well as providing a 360o view.
Last but not least, the H-ROV can be fitted with a tooling
skid that can also be rotated vis-à-vis the forward edge that has been defined
for it. This means that the H-ROV can carry four times as many interface tools
and sensors as a conventional ROV. A simple comparison might be with a manual
lathe vs. a CNC machining centre.
The H-ROV will meet future needs for extra sensors and
tools, and will be more cost-effective at great depths since it will not be
necessary to bring it to the surface for reconfiguration.
as well as capturing segments of the existing market for ROVs. It will be a
perfect tool for the offshore industry, research, marine biology and
archaeology, environmental studies, etc.
operations will be able to save time and money by using the new H-ROV,” says
Wenche Haugerud, marketing manager in Sperre AS. The company
has had its trade-mark and patent application for the H-ROV approved.