Volume 1, Issue 1
Winter 2023
Jeff Milisen
It all started when we decided that we wanted to try to send a solar powered robotic boat from Los Angeles to Hawaii. We wanted to do something cool that had never been done before.
While researching components for the project, we realized that the limiting component was the thruster. We needed something that could resist saltwater, operate continuously, and be efficient for months on end. Scouring the internet for options, we found hobbyists, students, researchers, and marine robotics companies that were in need of an affordable thruster.
We set out to design a thruster unlike anything available. We came up with the T100 Thruster, launched in a 2014 Kickstarter campaign. Since then, Blue Robotics has developed hundreds of low-cost enabling components to open the door for others looking to explore, innovate, and create.
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Start ing at $5,500*
Open-Source Navigator Flight Controller w/ BlueOS Software
6 Free Penetrator Holes for Expansion
Lumen Lights
1080p Low-Light USB Camera
T200 Vectored Thrusters
Bar30 Depth Sensor
Quick-Swappable Batteries
- Live Low-Latency 1080p HD Video
BlueROV2 Modular Frame
- Highly Maneuverable Vectored T200 Thruster Configuration with Basic ESCs
- Optimized for Inspection and Research-Class Missions
- Modular Frame Allows for Integrations and Expandability
- Configurable in Both 100m or 300m Depth Ratings
- Battery Powered with Quick-Swappable Batteries for Long Missions
- Navigator Flight Controller
- Open-Source BlueOS Vehicle Configuration and Video Streaming Software
- Open-Source ArduSub Control Software
*Includes 2 x Lumen Lights, Acrylic Enclosures, 100m Tether, Standard Tether Spool, Battery & Charger
Jeff Milisen
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The World’s Most Affordable High-Performance ROV
Ocean research, exploration, and adventure are all made easily accessible by our flagship product, the BlueROV2. It provides the capabilities of a high-end commercial mini-ROV at the price of the most basic commercial ROV’s, making the BlueROV2 the world’s most affordable inspection and research-class subsea vehicle.
The smooth, stable, and highly maneuverable ROV is comprised of six thrusters, a rugged frame, and quick-swappable batteries. Powerful but dimmable lights provide excellent illumination for the live HD video feed.
Like all Blue Robotics products, we created the BlueROV2 with high-quality parts, meticulous design, and rugged reliability with proven success in the field.
Equipped with six powerful T200 thrusters and Basic ESCs, the BlueROV2 has the best thrust-toweight ratio in its class to perform demanding tasks.
It is ideal for operations in shallow to moderate waters, configurable in both 100m and 300m depth ratings and up to 300m tether lengths available.
The BlueROV2 uses the opensource ArduSub software and Navigator autopilot to provide autonomous capabilities rarely seen in mini-ROVs and hackability paralleled by none. Blue Robotics actively develops and updates its software to enhance the BlueROV2’s functionality.
Your vehicle will arrive almostready-to-dive, with pre-built sub-assemblies and instructional materials to make the experience as straightforward and enjoyable as possible. Additional items including the topside computer, gamepad controller and batteries are not included.
At Blue Robotics, we are committed to creating quality products that are accessible to any explorer.
Blue Robotics
The Impact of Observational ROVs on
Commercial Marine Inspections
Humans have been using the ocean as a food supply for virtually all of history, and it is safe to assume the first divers emerged near the beginning of our existence. However, it did not take long to realize food was not all the ocean had to offer - as the many opportunities the ocean provided became clear, commercial diving became a profession.
There is evidence of commercial diving for pearls dating back more than 2,000 years BCE and evidence of Greek divers filling their ears with oil and diving for sponges as far back as 400 BCE. During
this time, commercial diving was often reserved for the lower classes, as it was harsh and painful work. According to Aristotle, divers would even puncture their eardrums before diving so they would not be affected by the water pressure as they descended!
In modern times, commercial divers perform the invaluable jobs of maintenance, repair, recovery, and inspections, making sure that our bridges, pipes, ships, water towers, docks, and aquaculture farms are working well. While necessary for these applications, diving is expensive, time-consuming, and dan-
gerous, making technological advancement inevitable in the industry.
It wasn’t until the 1960’s that a disruptive new technology took force, expanding the scope of underwater inspections: the working class Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV). These ROVs are able to reach depths divers cannot and, equipped with lights, cameras, and manipulators, are able to complete tasks by themselves or alongside a diver. At the time, these ROVs were costly and difficult to obtain by individuals or small companies, making them virtually inaccessible to the vast number
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of companies who could make use of them.
Thanks to advances in technology from the consumer electronics and drone industries, small ROVs, like the BlueROV2, are now accessible to a wide range of businesses and users. Leveraging unique T200 Thrusters, open source software, and modular design, the BlueROV2 is affordable yet customizable to suit the needs of many applications. Available ac-
cessories include sonars, underwater positioning systems, and manipulators.
The BlueROV2 has been used in many situations where a human diver is not safe or cost-effective: on narrow pipe inspections, in dangerous arctic waters, and in toxic environments. ROVs don’t always replace divers - there are many jobs where ROVs and divers work together in tandem! ROVs may be sent down in advance to evaluate vis-
ibility and conditions before sending down a diver. They may also work alongside divers in the water to maintain diver safety or allow the job manager to keep an eye on the inspection.
The technology is here and the possibilities are endless. Whether used independently or alongside a human, small ROVs are providing us with a new tool to get the job done faster, safer, and better than ever before.
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ROV
Delta
Cleanin’ & Crawlin’
Down in Jalisco, Mexico, AQUA Exploración has become a fierce competitor in the marine service industry. Focused on reducing the risk of human life at sea, they provide custom robotics solutions for a variety of applications including aquaculture, search and rescue, mapping, restoration, telecommunication, cleaning, and inspection.
“The Crawler” is one of their customized ROVs focusing on the inspection and cleaning of industrial tanks. Built from a BlueROV2 base, this vehicle is stocked with 4 DC motors, high friction tires for wet floors, and a modular brush capable of removing and extracting large amounts of sediment. Designed with safety in mind, this vehicle allows you to easily clean and maintain cisterns and storage tanks while massively reducing the risk of human accidents inside the
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Ping360
Scanning Sonar
High Friction Tires
Modular Brush
Four DC Motors
BlueROV2 Frame Base
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Dual Battery Enclosures
Equipping the Heroes of the Sea
Losing your phone in the water is a far cry from an emergency, but what if it were your machinery, your business equipment, your vessel, your friend? Water can be a dangerous element, swallowing many things which were never meant to remain there, but with the help of Search and Recovery (SAR) teams, not all is always lost.
Underwater SAR teams range from first responders to local dive companiesusing their equipment and expertise to locate and recover that which is lost at
sea. With the use of ROVs, these teams are able to search safer, longer, and deeper than before, enhancing both success rate of recovery and the time they are able to accomplish it in.
Based in San Diego, California, Jeff Conger at BlueLink has become our number one resource for SAR related vehicle requests. Built from a BlueROV2 base and taking inspiration from the SeaBotix SARbot designed for Search and Rescue, Conger designed his own SARbot: a low-cost, easy
to operate robotics system, optimized for underwater Search and Recovery.
Working closely with police, fire fighters, sheriffs, government agencies, and first responders, BlueLink specializes in equipping teams with the tools needed to perform their duty as thoroughly and efficiently as possible; sometimes saving a business, sometimes bringing closure to a grieving family. Not only does BlueLink provide the vehicle, but they also provide ROV simulation software for maintaining op-
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erator muscle memory, as well as hands on training including ROV operation, sonar courses, dummy rescue drills, pool based sessions, and real-world deployments.
With the choice between 3 different multibeam imaging sonars, the SARbot can operate in harsh underwater environments helping you search, navigate, and identify targets in low or zero visibility. Beyond that, it is equipped with 8 T200 Thrusters, a 1200 W power supply, reinforced load transfer, and a Newton Gripper, enabling the SARbot to retrieve the recovery target/ victim if they are beyond diver depth or divers are not available. With a modular
frame and an internal Ethernet hub for additional accessories, the SARbot was also built to be expandable and adaptable to individual needs.
To date, the SARbot has helped first responders locate and/or recover multiple persons on the west coast including a cliff jumper at 153 ft deep in Flaming Gorge, Utah, two aircraft passengers at 120 ft deep in Lake Powell, Utah, a boater in the San Joaquin River, California, and 6 more recoveries by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department alone. BlueLink’s dedication to empowering and serving our local community is hard not to admire.
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How Low-Cost Subsea Components are Changing Marine Conservation Efforts
As you page through the latest marine news, it’s easy to see why ROVs and other robotic marine vehicles are nearly synonymous with the industrial and commercial world. The value they provide is undeniable and worth a heavy price tag. Less obvious are the many applications where this technology could provide critical value but where there isn’t enough funding, or a strong business case to justify investing in such platforms. Conservation is an area that unfortunately falls into this category despite its importance to our planet’s future. Since starting Blue Robotics five years ago, our goal has been to create affordable and capable marine robotics
components and, through doing so, enable the use of subsea technology in more fields. To us, conservation is one of the most exciting areas in which marine robotics has a significant potential for positive impact.
Marine robotics can help researchers bring both public awareness and direct action to environmental and ecological conservation. One roboticist taking direct action with marine robotics is Matthew Dunbabin. Dunbabin is a professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia (QUT). He and his team have spent the last few years building autonomous subsea systems with an emphasis on conserva-
tion and have made some impressive accomplishments.
Their primary platform, the RangerBot, is a lowcost AUV with stereovision cameras for localization, mapping, and navigation. In addition to a number of specially built parts, the RangerBot uses Blue Robotics thrusters, lights, sensors, and sonar. Built as a multipurpose platform, the RangerBot has completed some unusual missions compared to the average ROV or AUV.
In 2016, Dunbabin and team demonstrated the vehicle as a way to mitigate the overpopulation of crown-of-thorns starfish on
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the Great Barrier Reef. Using a robotic arm equipped with a syringe full of a specially formulated toxin, the RangerBot autonomously identifies the starfish on the reef and provides a lethal injection. This can also be done by human divers, but the low-cost robotic system is more effective, scalable, and safer.
distributed baby corals across a reef in a process called larval restoration. Using a selection of corals with a high resistance to bleaching in increased ocean temperatures, this process will likely provide a method for repopulating the reef with sustainable species. Larval restoration can be performed by hand with divers, but the robot is able to work much faster, covering over 30,000 square meters in six hours in their most recent tests. Within the next few months, QUT will attempt to restore a 1,000,000 square meter area using the LarvalBot.
Dr Craig O’Connell
In addition to reducing harmful populations, the RangerBot also demonstrates an ability to repopulate the reef with the right species. In 2019, the QUT team and their robot, rebranded as the “LarvalBot”, 13
“The availability of low-cost and reliable underwater vehicle components are essential to the scaling of our autonomous monitoring, management, and conservation activities,” says Dunbabin. “They allow us to rapidly develop and demonstrate advanced robotic systems targeted for onthe-ground action by citizen scientists and community groups, researchers, and government agencies.
“We want to let the marine scientists do what they do
best, which is assessing conditions,” says Dunbabin. “We just want to provide tools for them to really upscale the activities that they’re doing.”
The RangerBot has a lot of new missions on its to-do list, and may someday be used for everything from population surveys to real-time water quality monitoring. The possibilities seem nearly endless and the impact on wide-ranging conservation efforts could be substantial.
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Queensland University of Technology
GPS Tracking
Autonomous Operation
Real-Time Computer Vision
Coral Larvae Dispersion Tool or COTS Injection Tool (Integrations) T200 Thrusters
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Are you here on business or pleasure?
As often as humans use underwater vehicles for professional purposes (aquaculture, inspection, research, defense, etc.), there are still those of us whose hearts beat solely for the thrill of adventure and exploration. From treasure hunting and discovering undocumented shipwrecks, to scoping out potential dive spots and observing marine life, ROVs have become an invaluable tool for the marine explorer.
On the east coast of the US in Cape May, New Jersey, the RV Explorer team has spent the better part of their lives doing just that, exploring. With a focus on shipwrecks and marine history conservation, they also have a desire to share marine adventure with others, offering diving charters and sunset cruises. “The RV Explorer (RVX) dive vessel is designed to bring together great people for the purpose of explor-
ing shipwrecks of the sea. Next to safety, having fun is our top priority. Whether you are a new diver on your first ocean dive or an experienced tech diver, the goal is to have fun,” beams Rusty Cassaway, Captain of the RV Explorer.
In 2022, RV Explorer crew member, Ross Baxter, linked up with Blue Robotics to ignite a partnership and embark on a very special mission: locating
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and documenting the last known WWI enemy submarine wreck off the eastern seaboard, the German U-111.
Sinking three Allied merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean during its time with the German Imperial Navy, The 235’ WWI German U-boat (U-111) sank in August 1922 and was thought to be lost in history. However, after extensive research by multiple team members, the location of the U-111 was confirmed, conveniently near a familiar deep water fishing location. On June 21, 2022, shipwreck explorer and author, Eric Petkovic, along with Captain Cassaway, ROV Pilot Baxter, and the rest of the RV Explorer crew, boarded
their vessel and ventured 75 miles south off the coast of Virginia to survey the deep-water fishing site, locating the wreck immediately.
Configured with a Heavy Kit for increased stability and control in the strong east coast currents, a Ping360 Sonar for navigation and imaging, and a GoPro for additional footage in 4k, they deployed their BlueROV2 to 400 ft depth, using their Newton Gripper to follow the anchor line down to the century old war vessel.
Studying the livestream from the ROV, the RV Explorer team was able to positively identify and document the wreck from the
safety of their vessel, eliminating the need for divers in the deep, turbulent waters.
A follow up trip with Eastern Search & Survey further side scanned the wreck for exact measurements, while National Geographic joined RV Explorer on a 16 hour expedition to the wreck over Labor Day, publishing their story in September 2022. Since then, the BlueROV2 has become a staple of their endeavors. “It’s an exciting time for the next generation of wreck divers. Teamwork and technology are sure to lead to more exciting shipwreck discoveries and identifications.”
-Captain Rusty Cassaway
R/V Explorer
