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robots make a difference—they relieve humans of dull, dirty, danger- ous and otherwise prohibitively costly tasks. Our UUVs are already hard at work doing these tasks today.

Bentley, VideoRay In my opinion this is the availability of small, com- paratively inexpensive multibeam sonars such as those pioneered by

BlueView Technologies. The “video like” returns allow operators with lit- tle experience to use them to navigate in water with almost no visibility – when you experience this yourself it is truly amazing.

Grant, Saab Seaeye There are several.

Power boost: A doubling of thruster power in top of the range electric vehicles means that the newest gener- ation of vehicles are serious competi- tors to the hydraulic ROV systems and can operate to depths greater than 6000m. The development of 800Hz, 3000v power distribution systems also means smaller diameter umbilical/tether cables and more power at greater depth of operation

Remote control systems: Significant developments in control systems technology have been achieved including the innovative concept of

Intelligent Control of Nodes (ICON). This allows each device within an ROV to think for itself and talk remotely to operators and engi- neers through a gateway into the heart of the vehicle through a remote web interface.

MMI simplified: Another innovation is a simplified man/machine interface (MMI) that improves the efficiency of piloting the vehicle, keeps the pilot in touch with the health of the ROV and warns of potential problems.

Smart fault diagnostics gives the pilot a clear interpretation of a fault and the remedial action to be taken, including remote isolation of the failed component so that the ROV can keep working.

Brighter lights: Rugged LED lighting has brought significant benefits to

ROV operations. It is less prone to damage than tungsten lighting, meaning there is less need to re-sur- face the ROV for repair and its brighter illumination improves video images.

What trends do you see today that you believe will change this business in the coming decade?

Kelly, Bluefin AUVs are on the precipice of general acceptance. The past has been primarily dedicated to

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