VideoRay LLC announces the successful completion of the fifth annual VIPS Micro-ROV conference.

More than 100 delegates gathered in Key Largo, Florida USA

Highlights of the conference this year:

Advanced Techniques for Professional Inspections
Presentations included pioneering Micro-ROV techniques in confined spaces in by Henning Føsker of Norconsult of Sandvika, Norway. Steve Van Meter of NASA shared his experiences and techniques on extremely challenging projects ranging from oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico to oil refineries in Aruba, with stops in Phuket, Thailand and Tasmania, Australia. Tom Glebas of VideoRay did a briefing on Lateral Inspections on the Panama Canal. Potable Water Tank lnspection presentations were given by Jim Wickizer and Penny Allds of J&S Utility Consultants and Daniel Stewart of Dasco Equipment, Canada.

Research Presentations
The University of Zagreb from Croatia (http://www.unizg.hr/ ), and the University of Waterloo from Canada (http://lair.uwaterloo.ca/ ), each sent multiple researchers to explain how they "hacked" VideoRay's PC control interface to extend its capabilities. Their projects demonstrated how various autonomous operations, both tethered to topside instrumentation and completely autonomous, can be accomplished with VideoRay for a fraction of the cost of most autonomous vehicles in use today. Kamiya Tsuyoshi of Yamaha Motor Company of Shizouoka, Japan discussed the latest work on unmanned watercraft that deploys VideoRay. Doug Levin of NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, John Wheeler of Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada presented papers on their research and underwater ROV techniques with VideoRay in Newfoundland, Canada and Maryland, USA. Chris Olstad of MRDF gave a keynote presentation on Manned Undersea Stations worldwide and the use of Micro-ROVs from them.

VideoRay in Education
Mark Gleason of Michigan Technological University gave two presentations on his use of VideoRay in many different lakes and parks in Michigan. Ed Seidel, the director of the Maine Resources Aquarium talked about his experiences using VideoRay as an aquarium display. Kristy Chiodo of Robinson High School of Tampa, Florida inspired the attendees to spread their enthusiasm for underwater robotics to high school students and mentor and motivate them with VideoRay technology.

Port Security and Public Safety Advances
Presentations by the United States Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team 91101 of Seattle, Washington, included "Lessons Learned while Using Micro-ROVs for Port Security and other Coast Guard Applications" and multiple presentations and workshops on the final day's "mini-school" for Underwater Port Security, Law Enforcement, and Public Safety. The St. Louis County, Minnesota, Sheriff's Office Rescue Squad (http://www.slcrescue.org/) offered presentations highlighting their experiences locating four different drowning victims over the last two years in very challenging conditions.

Micro-ROV Sonar and Positioning System Hardware Breakthroughs
BlueView Technologies of Seattle, Washington, (www.blueviewtech.com) excited many VideoRay owners with their Proviewer multibeam sonar integrated with the VideoRay ROV, which provides video-like views through murky water. Desert Star, of Marina, California (http://www.desertstar.com/) demonstrated their new Aquamap Seafloor for geo-location of underwater sites. Tritech International of Aberdeen, United Kingdom (http://www.tritech.co.uk/) discussed advancements to their suite of VideoRay sonars, altimeters, and laser scalers.

"It was exciting to see so many micro-ROV owners and pilots gathered in one place" remarked Scott Bentley, President of VideoRay LLC. "Attendees shared ideas, success, and challenges. The conference gets bigger, and better, each year.

VideoRay now has far more Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in service around the world than any manufacturer, and is delivering additional ROVs at an increasing rate. Weighing just 8 pounds and starting at $5995 USD, VideoRays can be equipped with sonar, positioning systems or other accessories, and are used for underwater surveys, offshore inspections, search and recovery, homeland defense, science, fish farming and a range of applications in underwater environments. In August, the General Services Administration (GSA) awarded VideoRay a contract to supply vehicles to the US government, making it easier and faster for many agencies to acquire one. See http://www.videoray.com/GSA for more information.

For further information:
Chris Gibson chris.gibson@videoray.com
VideoRay LLC Director, Marketing
Phone: 610.458.3000
www.videoray.com

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