SEAVIEW SYSTEMS EXECUTES 10KM TUNNEL INSPECTION - Using Novel Battery Powered Surveyor

Dexter, Michigan, September 15, 2016 – SeaView Systems, Inc., a leading provider of custom ROVs, underwater survey services and marine technologies, recently performed a comprehensive inspection of a 32,000ft (10km) long water intake tunnel operated by a regional water authority. The 43-year-old tunnel draws water from the Great Lakes to provide drinking water to several million residents.



“Getting complete video and sonar coverage of the full perimeter of a 16 foot diameter pipeline over a length of 10km presented a unique challenge,” said Geoff Cook, SeaView’s Operations Manager. “Our design incorporated a set of booms that open in the tunnel, much like an umbrella, to position cameras evenly around the perimeter as well as capture energy from the flowing water to provide locomotion.”

High efficiency LED lighting, powered by SeaView's proprietary battery system, provided sufficient illumination to produce a high quality video record of the entire length of the survey traverse.

A profiling sonar measures the internal surfaces of the tunnel including sediment depth. Using lithium ion battery technology and a SeaView designed battery management system, the system was able to operate over the entire length of tunnel with an average survey speed of 40ft/min. As with many previous surveys, SeaView compiled the resulting data using their proprietary 3DPipeWalk software package to present a unique and practical way to review the extensive data produced by the profiling sonar.

“SeaView was delighted to deploy our latest battery management innovations as part of this project,” said Matthew Cook, SeaView’s President. “The combination of the latest Lithium Ion battery capabilities along with SeaView's innovative custom electronics enabled a task which, not long ago, was unimaginable. We look forward to adapting these capabilities to other challenging inspections in the future. Thanks to the development that has gone into this project, there are few tunnels in the world that are out of SeaView's reach.”

SeaView Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures and operates remotely operated vehicles, electronics and other custom hardware/software tools, including oceanographic instruments, custom remotely operated vehicles and tooling systems, to meet oceanographic and underwater robotic applications.

Location: Dexter, MI, USA