The Project
  • What is it ?
    The SPROV'er is a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) designed to operate underwater, in the surf zone (depth < 15 ft). It can be controlled from the beach or from a boat, the cable connecting the power supply and remote control allows the SPROV'er to operate as far as 500 feet.
  • Characteristics
    The SPROV'er can be divided into 2 parts: the vehicle and the instrumentation.
    • The vehicle is an aluminum tripod. It is powered by 2 independent electric motors which allow motion but also change of direction. The motors are protected by aluminum housings which gurantees a good impact protection. An aluminum tower (15 ft high) allows the DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) reception.
    • The instrumentation consists of an inclinometer (3-axis compass) and a DGPS which are connected together in order to give the inclination of the SPROV'er at definite distance intervals. A black & white camera will allow us to "see" where we are going.
      A       PVC housing protects the electronic from the water.
  • Applications
    • Beach profile : the SPROV'er will be easy to use, accurate, fast and will not require more than 2 persons to be operated. One person will control the SPROV'er from the beach and another will collect the data on a computer. A 3D beach profile will then be computed using a software such as MatLab.
    • Other applications : we left some space in the instrumentation housing so that we will be able to add more sensors

 

Florida Institute of Technology
Department of Marine & Environmental Systems