Development and field experiments of a human-portable towed ROV for high-speed and wide area data acquisition

This paper presents field experiments to test a human-portable towed remotely operated vehicle developed for shallow seabed image data acquisition at high speeds and over a wide range. Through analysis and fundamental experiments, we designed and developed the towed ROV with a multi-camera unit. The portable vehicle can be operated even from small boats. Therefore, it offers an alternative survey method to a Manta tow survey guided by divers. We also conducted field experiments to verify the effectiveness of its motion performance and image acquisition performance. The multi-camera unit mounted on the towed ROV recorded seabed images at several speeds of 0.67–1.52 m/s. After the experiments, we built several 3D models of the seabed offline using experimentally obtained images. From those experimentally obtained results, we conclude that this towed ROV with the multi-camera unit is promising for use in wide area observations and periodic monitoring of shallow seabed areas.