However we have had many customer discussions and they have given us some feedback on how to improve it. What they and we have come up with is now being packaged into to the upgraded T38 under the new product name LYYN Hawk Portable™. Users of LYYN T38 will recognize that it has the same lyynification processing and the same controls as the T38. There are only some minor changes like larger control knobs and video connectors on the back.

We have also added the possibility to control the unit remotely via a serial RS232 interface. The idea is that you can connect to the LYYN Hawk Portable™ from a computer or some other control device, write your own control scripts to automate and adapt the unit to your equipment and setup.

More info on the product page.

Hello people who love to play on, near or in the water!

As we look toward the quickly approaching liquid water season (which we are as excited for as always), we are also very excited to announce the launch of the Rozalia Project. James and I are sick of seeing trash in the water, we are disgusted by the damage it does to marine animals, to beaches, to boats and the coast and we are scared by the fact that chemicals from plastics are ending up in the human food chain via the sea.

We are taking action and have founded the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean.

Starting this summer, we will be traveling the northeast coast at selected sites from New Jersey to the top of Maine to pick up trash, record data and engage and entertain the coastal and sea-going public on marine debris, it’s problems, prevention and solutions.

While we will be using nets to catch debris on the surface the centerpiece of our efforts will be a combination of high tech pieces of equipment: a VideoRay ROV (remotely operated vehicle – an underwater robot) with a Lyyn image enhancement system used alongside a Tritech Starfish side scan sonar. This combination of technology will allow us to find and remove debris with little to no impact on the seafloor (as opposed to dragging or grappling, a technique that is currently being used) even in deep, dark water.

We will come with our boat and equipment to you… to sailing centers, yacht clubs, waterfront organizations, your favorite kite or windsurfing venue, towns, your family’s beachfront… and clean it up. We will record the data and we will offer hands-on activities, opportunities to join us as guest scientists and give slide show presentations for kids and adults in your community.

This problem is immediate and dangerous. Beyond killing marine mammals, turtles, sea birds and fish, plastic and marine debris is affecting human health and economic well-being. There are islands of trash in the Pacific bigger than the state of Texas. We feel that no pile is too big and that we can and will make a difference.

You can make a difference too. Please join us by:

-Matching us with funding sources, foundations, companies and individuals who are concerned about this problem and looking for someone taking action to support whether that is yourself, friends or colleagues. We are incorporated as a Vermont non-profit and our federal 501(c)(3) non-profit status is being processed.

-Helping us identify clubs, schools and organizations who will have us come and pick up trash, run programs and give presentations this summer.

-Connecting us with research, survey or other charter opportunities. Our boat, our equipment and our captains/operators will be available for charter to complete research missions and projects throughout the northeast. This will also help fund our clean up efforts.

-Coordinating with organizers of beach clean-ups or other groups with similar goals. With our equipment, we are a great on the water compliment to a shore-side clean up effort.

-Introducing us to media or other opportunities to spread the word about what we are doing and the problem of marine debris.

-Checking out our web site: www.rozaliaproject.org, become a fan on Facebook, join the discussion with your own experiences of marine debris and pass this email on to everyone you know who enjoys the ocean.

and of course, you will be helping us by reducing your own use of disposable grocery bags and water bottles, making sure that all of your debris is secure and picking up trash that is in your path when you hit the water this summer.

We are looking forward to the summer and working with US Sailing to help spread the word, our technology partners to find and remove trash on the bottom and all of you for support, trash pick up and building contacts.

I can be reached at rachael@rozaliaproject.org or by calling 802-578-6120. Send us a note or give us a call if you have connections, ideas or a location that needs cleaning.

Thank you in advance and we hope you will join us any way you can to clean up marine debris for all the reasons we love the sea.

Think clean ocean,

rzm

Rachael Z. Miller
rachael@rozaliaproject.org
www.rozaliaproject.org
802-578-6120

A complete system comes in one rugged waterproof hand carry case with an all up weight of just 18kg.  It defines the “Hand Carry” class in underwater inspection systems.  CE Marked and certified for all “feet wet” applications, offshore, onshore or down pipes, it is the safest and quickest tool for your underwater inspection.  One person can easily deploy the system in less than 3 minutes.  Not only can it be carried in one hand, it can also be controlled with one hand, leaving your other one free to tend to the tether, take notes, operate the manipulator or answer your mobile. The AC-ROV is a single operator system and a benchmark in ROV design.

AC-CESS offers LYYN T38™ or LYYN Inside™ as options.

Explorers finding a shipwreck with the digital depth sounder before sending the ROV down to the wreck.

The VideoRay ROV and tether awaiting launch

‘’Welcome to the General Butler. Please dive safely. Don’t penetrate the wreck!’’

”Explore Lake Champlain’s amazing shipwrecks without getting wet!

Join Lake Champlain Shipwrecks for a unique adventure. First we cruise to the wreck site, then, while sitting above the wreck, we’ll tell you the story behind it. Next, we deploy our ROV (remotely operated vehicle) and you will be able to see the wreck on screens onboard the boat as the ROV explores the depths. This is a fun experience for everyone, regardless of age.”

Rachael Miller is running a successful tour operation in Lake Champlain, Vermont, USA. Though only the sixth largest of America’s lakes, Lake Champlain’s distinction is what it contains: arguably the nation’s largest collection of historic wooden shipwrecks.

It all started back in 1986 when New York and Vermont created the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserve System to protect its fragile wrecks from anchor damage and theft, while providing access to divers. The same year, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum set up shop at Basin Harbor and went to work collecting, documenting, and preserving what artifacts it could salvage.

A decade later, they began a 10-year sonar scan of the lake’s floor, uncovering at least 70 previously unknown wrecks. Nine are open to divers, three of them in Burlington Bay. But the sites were inaccessible to non divers.

So in 2005, husband-and-wife sailing instructors Rachael Miller and James Line expanded their Burlington boating and snow kiting business to include shipwreck tours using a VideoRay ROV. This was the second company worldwide, and the first in North America, to offer this great opportunity to the public to connect with their underwater world, and for this they received the VideoRay Best Mission Award at the VideoRay International Partners Conference in Key Largo, Florida, in November 2007.

And now (spring of 2008) they have added a new tool to give their clients an even more exciting experience, the LYYN T38. “It’s really fantastic!”, says Rachel. “Visibility in Lake Champlain can be really difficult. There are even days when the turbidity’s so bad we have to cancel the tours. Now my clients can see what’s down there and get full value for money, whatever the visibility conditions.”

The following four images are from the Burlington Bay Horse Ferry that lies shattered near Lone Rock Point. This was a horse-powered ferry (rather than one that carried horses), propelled by two horses who walked on the top of the turntable from holes in the deck on each side of the boat, like a treadmill. You can still see the gear shaft coming off of the turntable that changed the horizontal circular motion into the vertical paddle-wheel motion.

The Burlington Bay Horse Ferry

The framing and turntable

Close-up of the port side

Close up of the paddle wheel

Read the full Case Story: Shipwrecktour.com or visit www.shipwrecktour.com.

The Burrard Inlet is a vibrant ecosystem that is surrounded by a busy and heavily populated waterfront. When completed, the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre will be the last piece of a continuous horizontal habitat restoration project stretching from Vancouver Ports to Stanley Park.

Using technology provided by Roper Resources Ltd, the Vancouver Aquarium will use the ROV to conduct yearly surveys of this underwater habitat to measure the re-establishment of marine life in the Burrard Inlet.

Staff, students and volunteers at the Aquarium will be able to review the video data to record species diversity and abundance, as well as make yearly comparisons. This information helps inform scientific research and policy, and also helps us to educate the public about important issues affecting our oceans and consequently, our daily lives.

The video clip is the promotional material Vancouver Aquarium showed at the Oceans 2007 show at the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre. All underwater footage is enhanced with a LYYN T38™.

Visit www.vanaqua.org to read more.

Published courtesy of Vancouver Aquarium,
©2007 Vancouver Aquarium, all rights reserved

The search was conducted using a camera mounted on a pole deployed from a 20’ vessel. Arc search patterns were executed using the boat motor to move the vessel left and right, while the bow of the vessel was fixed to a post on shore.

The LYYN T38 was connected between the pole camera and a DVR. A second monitor was plugged into the DVR so that Sam could see in the highly turbid water.

Broward County Sheriff's Office divers

Footage by:

Deputy Sam Lapinsky
Broward County Sheriff’s Office
Marine Unit/Dive Rescue Team

Sam also runs his own company: Innovative Dive Equipment Inc.

Flooded coal mine in West Bengal, India

Steve Van Meter

Steve Van Meter is one of the worlds most experienced underwater investigation consultants using VideoRay MicroROV’s. Steve travels to destinations in all parts of the globe from his base in Florida, USA. Investigations covers all type of inspections, from searching for missing bodies to inspection of perished oil tankers.

In September 2008, Steve was commissioned by the Indian Institute of Technology to map an abandoned coal mine in a village located 250 km NW of Kolkata. The mine had been abandoned for some time and needed to be filled with sand to avoid the risk of ground-sinking, that could endanger the village built on top of the mine. Before starting the fill, it was vital to inspect and map the whole mine, no reliable drawings existed. Using divers to do the inspection was not an option due to the dangers involved.

Steve Van Meter lowers the VideoRay into the mine

Apart from the more practical issues, like sufficient power and working in very high temperatures, the biggest challenge was the access to the mine. The only access was a 50 meter deep and 35 cm wide bore hole. Steve was using a VideoRay Pro3, which he managed to lower into the hole to reach the actual mine 50 meters below. The ROV was equipped with a sonar and a LYYN T38™ real-time video enhancement unit.

”The combination of a sonar and the LYYN unit worked very well together and allowed me to quickly map the mine and at the same time get good video images of the conditions of the tunnels.

The latter was important for the decisions later on of the best way to fill the mine in an efficient way. Without the LYYN unit it would have taken much longer time and without the good video images it would be more difficult to decide how to continue. After using the LYYN technology for over 2 years I am very happy with it and I never go on a job without it”, says Steve.

Some original footage from the inspection, filmed through Steve’s LYYN T38:

[See post to watch Flash video]

The customer has requested to be unnamed for strategic reasons. However, they were so impressed by the result that they were willing to share the clips.

The clips come from a live test of a LYYN T38™ connected to an IR camera. The first three clips contains buildings, hill and trees, with cars moving at the bottom.

The customer has requested to be unnamed for strategic reasons. However, they were so impressed by the result that they were willing to share the clips.

The tests were performed in a warm climate making all long distance shots obscured by sun haze.

The first four clips are from the same high end camera at several distances under different conditions.

The following three clips are from three other cameras, testing how much different camera types influences the result.

The test was so successful that Avitone decided to join the LYYN dealer network for the Taiwanese Security and SubSea markets.

This first clip comes from a live test of the LYYN T38™ recorded from a surveillance camera overlooking Taipei Harbor.

The following clips come from their tests in low-light conditions. Click on the video, it is only black in the beginning until they turn on the LYYN T38.:

[See post to watch Flash video]

Published courtesy of Avitone Co, Ltd,
©2007 Avitone Co, Ltd, all rights reserved.