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VideoRay Swimming Video Camera Helps Chilean Aquaculture Farm Inspect Nets - January 22, 2001

Daily Inspections without Divers Keeps Fish Loss Down, Boosts Profit Potential

VideoRay today introduced the VideoRay Inspection System to the aquaculture industry. VideoRay is an ROV (remotely operated vehicle) that allows fisheries better control of operations and offers an alternate to using divers to inspect nets. A portable “swimming video camera” on a 250-foot tether, the VideoRay Inspection System can be used daily to inspect nets, monitor feeding, find expensive lost equipment, and perform regulatory compliance work. The VideoRay Inspection System is on display in booth 925.

Jorge Ovalle of Chileyue, SA, a fish farming organization in Castro, Chiloe Island, Chile, is using the VideoRay Inspection System. In Chile, the salmon harvest exceeds 350 thousand tons annually. The cost of a four-kilogram salmon escaping through an undetected hole equals a $12 USD loss from the fish farmer’s bottom line.

Priced under $12,000 USD, VideoRay provides a fast return on investment. If VideoRay prevents the escape of 1000 salmon, it pays for itself. VideoRay takes the place of divers in many cases, saving time, expense, and risk to human life. VideoRay can help find lost equipment, saving even more money. Furthermore, VideoRay can help farmers more effectively and efficiently monitor feedings. In the aquaculture industry, food waste of just one percent represents $5 million in lost profit each year.

The VideoRay Inspection System allows Chileyue, SA to inspect its nets more frequently than possible with divers. With two halogen lights, VideoRay can be used day or night. Unlike divers, VideoRay never needs a rest and never runs out of air. Sending live video to a monitor on the deck, VideoRay moves stealthily through the water like many sea creatures at up to 2 knots. Because of its small size – just 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms), 14 inches long, 9 inches wide, and 8.5 inches high (35 centimeters by 23 centimeters by 22 centimeters)—and the fact that it does not emit bubbles, VideoRay does not scare fish as divers often do or create a panic that can lead to the death of fish. Importantly, Chileyue, SA can see every aspect of its underwater operations without risking injury to divers. They no longer have to rely on reports from tired divers working in difficult circumstances.

By sending the electricity-powered sub into the water, Chileyue, SA can see below the surface, where its profits are either harvested or wasted. Fish disease results from bottom contamination. Farm staff can inspect the seabed beneath the farm using VideoRay at depths up to 500 feet without risk to humans. VideoRay can also cut down on disease propagation between farms. Staff can also verify the structural integrity of the farm site by inspecting anchors, connectors, and mooring lines.

About VideoRay:
With more than 2,000 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) in service around the world, VideoRay has clearly become the global leader in Observation ROV technology. VideoRay is an extremely versatile, portable, affordable, and reliable solution for underwater operations including surveys, offshore inspections, search & recovery, homeland & port security, science & research, fish farming, and other unique applications in underwater environments. “Plug and play” technology allows you to quickly attach sensors and accessories in the field so you can successfully complete your mission. VideoRay is available on the General Services Administration.

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WHY VIDEORAY?

AFFORDABILITY

With ROVs starting under $10,000 (in the US), the cost is quickly justified when compared to commercial dive missions or funding the purchase, mobilization, staffing, and operation of larger ROVs.

PORTABILITY

One person can transport the tiny 8-pound sub, control box and tether. The Scout system weighs less than 70 pounds and packs neatly in one rolling Pelican case. All other systems fit in two Pelican cases that can be transported in a car trunk or helicopter, or checked as airline baggage.

USABILITY

Driving the VideoRay is similar to operating a video game. A specially trained ROV pilot is not needed. (In fact, kids raised on video games routinely put adults to shame piloting VideoRay.). VideoRay is equally at home with a search and rescue team as it is with a yacht owner enjoying live views of a coral reef in St. Thomas. Additional controls on advanced models include front camera focus and tilt, rear camera selection and automatic depth holding (see the product detail pages for complete lists of features and capabilities of each model).

SAFETY

Since VideoRay uses less than 500 watts of power, a car or marine battery with inverter, small gasoline generator, or any 100-240 VAC outlet powers the control box and submersible. The current running through the tether to the submersible is a comparatively safe 48 VDC, rather than the possibly lethal 360-plus VDC used by other ROVs. This makes it safe for divers to handle the submersible in the water, and for kids to swim with it in a pool.

REACH

Standard tether lengths vary by model, but additional neutral, negative, and positively buoyant tethers can be added to extend the overall reach of the VideoRay up to 1,100 feet. Tethers are available in a variety of lengths to meet the needs of particular water conditions or projects.