Past week the CIRS team from VICOROB, together with CIRTESU members from Jaume I University, conducted a series of test around the concept of OPTIHROV; wireless optically linked ROV. The experiments took place in Sant Feliu de Guixols port, where the team ventured on to explore the extents and capabilities of said concept using underwater optical modems found in the market and our flagship robot, the GIRONA500 AUV.
For the main tests one of the optical modems was placed in the GIRONA500 AUV, and the other one was placed in a Docking Station, which we just designed and developed at the lab, and is also being tested for long term underwater operations for the GIRONA AUV models, this related to the PLOME project. Between the tests performed we wanted to characterize variables such as maximum communications distance range, working field of view, operations under different water conditions given the environment light and depth, data transmission capabilities, among others.
These type of tests enable us to properly shape upcoming proposals that look forward the future of underwater robotics, a future where ROVs can work over wireless communication networks with better data size and rate transmission of what we have today, which is useful for both oceanographic research and for IMR (inspection, maintenance and repair) tasks.
