Seaeye Falcon - Options and Accessories
 

At Seaeye we are constantly looking at new ways to enhance the capability of our vehicles by developing useful tools and accessory interfaces that can be added to the basic systems. These are developed as much from customer input as from our own operational experience.

The following accessories are currently available for your Seaeye Falcon. Others are in development and will be added to this list as they are proven in the field:

Running Lock Latch - for safe launch and recovery

The Falcon Running Lock Latch System comprises a Bullet Assembly, that replaces the vehicle's standard umbilical attachment point, and a Running Lock Latch Assembly that can be used in combination with a lifting winch to launch and recover Falcon ROVs without putting strain on the ROV umbilical. This is ideal for use on oil rigs or from other elevated launch sites!

Some operators leave the lock latch in the water following release of the ROV to act as a clump weight below the splash zone helping to keep the umbilical clear of the ship's propellers and thrusters.

To download a brochure containing more details about the operation of a lock latch and ordering information click here:

Click here for PDF Rev 2
or right-click to download

Single Function, 3 Jaw Manipulator & Rope Cutter - all in one useful tool!

Closed	Opening	Fully Open
Closed with cutter blade covered	Opening exposes the blade & traps the rope..	to make the cut

This clever single function manipulator has three, 100 mm stainless steel jaws enabling vertical or horizontal objects to be grasped without the need of the rotate function required with traditional two jaw manipulators.

Particularly useful for freeing trapped umbilicals, light recovery tasks or attaching a line, we recommend this device as the first choice of accessory to add to the vehicle.

This tool can also be used to cut 9 mm diameter rope with the simple installation of a craft or 'Stanley Knife' blade that remains fully protected while the jaws are closed.

Open and close of the jaws is controlled on the Falcon hand controller.

5 Function Manipulator Skid

5 Function manipulator skid...	mounted under Seaeye Falcon

The Falcon 5 function manipulator skid contains a small hydraulic power pack, a pressure compensation bladder and valve pack fitted with 5 bi-directional solenoid valves to operate each of the manipulator's 5 functions. Attachment to and removal from the vehicle is very quick with power and control supplied from the ROV to the skid via a single connector. Additional buoyancy is built into the skid to compensate for its additional weight.

Wire Rope Cutter Skid

Falcon Wire Rope Cutter Skid

This hydraulically powered, skid mounted cutter is capable of cutting up to 19 mm diameter polypropylene rope or 12 mm stainless steel wire rope. It is a 3 function device providing 180 degree shoulder rotate, an elbow function and operation of the ram-type cutter blade.

Sonar

Sonar is the underwater equivalent of radar and is used to increase the detection range of subsea objects far beyond the visual range of the ROV's camera. This significantly adds to the operational capability of any ROV particularly in search and survey operations as well as for obstacle avoidance. It can also be a great help to the ROV pilot in orientating himself and the ROV to its surroundings, particularly in poor visibility. In extreme conditions it may be impossible to usefully operate an ROV without sonar.

The detection range of sonar depends on ambient water conditions, the type of seabed, the size of the object and the frequency of the sonar head. Lower frequency sonars provide greater detection range but at the expense of image resolution. Higher frequency sonars have lower detection ranges but greater resolution. Some sonars have a fixed frequency while others are tuneable or have dual, selectable frequencies.

The sonar head is installed on the vehicle with the transducer protected by a polypropylene guard. The sonar data is transmitted to the surface processor through a spare screened twisted pair in the ROV umbilical and the sonar image is displayed on a monitor housed in a 19 inch racked transit case with the sonar processor. Some manufacturers offer sonar processing software that can be installed on the clients own PC as an alternative to using their surface sonar processor.

Sonar head fitted to Falcon		Sonar surface processor and monitor

Falcon accepts most manufacturers' 24 or 48 volt DC sonars. We are happy to assist with the selection of the most appropriate system for your requirements.

Falcon surface control unit, hand controller
and sonar surface unit

Cameras

Falcon is provided with a high-resolution NTSC or PAL colour CCD camera as standard. A second camera can be added if required. A toggle switch is provided on the Falcon hand controller to select between cameras A and B.

Alternative or additional camera options from various manufacturers include:

• Low light black and white cameras
• Pan and Tilt cameras
• Zoom cameras

Image Scaling System

Laser technology, used in conjunction with a high quality zoom camera and specially designed imaging software, are combined to provide a highly accurate underwater measuring tool.

ISS camera mounted on a Seaeye Falcon

Four lasers housed inside the camera provide parallel beams that are visible on the surface under inspection. A fifth laser is mounted at a predefined angle and can also be seen on the surface under inspection. This fifth laser provides a reference point, which is used to calculate an accurate distance to the reference point.

This camera is mounted in a combined 360 degree balanced tilt mechanism and camera housing designed by Seaeye for the Seaeye Falcon. The camera tilt angle is displayed on the Falcon Video overlay. The housing includes a remotely switched, variable intensity, Seaeye flood light. A hinged door cover is provided to protect the camera lens when the ROV is not in use.

Falcon fitted with ISS camera, Sonar and Manipulator	ISS Camera - Remote Control Unit

The ISS Camera Remote Control Unit can be used as a stand alone hand controller for the camera functions or can be conveniently bolted to the Falcon Hand Controller. The following controls are provided from this unit:

• Light On/Off and Intensity
• Camera Tilt
• Camera Zoom In/Out
• Camera Focus In/Out
• Lasers On/Off with LED 'laser on' warning light

The ISS-SOFT software package provided with the camera is used to record the image information and carry out measurements and image analysis.

A number of image enhancement tools allow the operator to accurately define the positions of the lasers and enhance the quality of the information logged.

The ISS Camera is manufactured by Tritech International. To download their data sheet click here:

Click here for PDF Rev 0
or right-click to download

CP Probes

CP probes are used to measure the cathodic potential of subsea structures.

The Seaeye Falcon can accommodate either a 'contact' or 'proximity' probe as the operation requires. A contact probe is illustrated above.

The measured CP voltage is displayed on the Falcon Surface Unit video overlay.

Cleaning Brush

Cleaning brush kit	Cleaning brush installed

Powered by a Falcon thruster motor, this accessory is ideal for spot cleaning before taking CP readings, wall thickness measurements or the use of a flooded member detector (FMD). It is not intended for cleaning large areas of subsea structures for which a larger ROV like the Seaeye Lynx or Seaeye Panther Plus fitted with a heavy duty cleaning brush would be more appropriate.

The following picture and video clip shows the results achieved by DNT Offshore in Italy who used their Falcon to clean welds on an oil rig in preparation for non destructive testing:

Heavy marine growth removed ready for NDT

Video   Play Size 656 KB Resolution 320 X 240 pixels Duration 32 seconds Format WMV Best viewed with Windows Media Player ( free download from Microsoft ) You may also download by right-clicking icon and selecting 'Save Target As'.  Warning! This is a BIG file. Having ISDN, ADSL or faster is recommended.

Ultra Sonic Thickness Gauge

Ultrasonic thickness gauges use acoustic echo techniques to determine the thickness of structures and materials underwater. This involves the generation of a sound wave, and the measurement of time taken for a far side echo's to pass through the material of the structure under test.

Measurement data is transferred from the ROV mounted probe up to the surface via the Falcon's umbilical cable. Dedicated software displays the measurements and logs all test data.

Typical applications include deepwater pipeline inspection, ship inspections, lock gate, pier and piling inspections.

Umbilical Hand Winch

In order to avoid twisting and kinking it is usual to coil the ROV umbilical in a figure of 8 on deck or over cow horns mounted on a bulkhead and then pay out and recover the umbilical by hand.

The use of an umbilical winch is a more convenient and space saving solution.

Falcon umbilical hand winch & slip ring

Specifications Length 780 mm Width 600 mm excluding handle Height 760 mm Weight 31 kg excluding umbilical Capacity 450 m Falcon umbilical

The Series 5 umbilical hand winch has a capacity of 450 metres of 13 mm umbilical. A slip ring is included so that umbilical can be reeled in and out during ROV flying operations. With a frame and drummed constructed of polypropylene with aluminium spacer bars, this new IP68 rated hand winch is 15 kilos lighter than previous units.

IP68 Waterproof Surface Control Equipment

IP68 rating is an internationally recognised standard that certifies equipment against the ingress of dust (solids) and water (liquids). The IP68 Falcon surface equipment is totally protected from any ingress of water during prolonged periods of immersion that can be encountered in hostile maritime environments.

IP68 Testing!

An additional benefit of the IP68 Surface Equipment is lower weight and enhanced portability. By using the IP68 option less space is required for the surface equipment, deployment and transit is simplified, creating a more versatile package. For example, in conjunction with a small generator, the entire system can be deployed in an exposed RIB or a light launch.

IP68 Surface Equipment	IP68 Equipment Packed

The IP68 Seaeye Falcon surface equipment comprises of the following two pieces of equipment:

IP68 Surface control unit:

This is built into a rugged case with an integral daylight readable video display and overlay. All of the vehicle controls normally fitted in the hand controller for a standard Falcon are incorporated into this unit including the joystick.

IP68 Power supply unit:

This compact power supply saves space, yet retains the full functionality of the standard power supply unit. It is also fully water proofed to the IP68 standard.

24 Volt Auxiliary Power Supply Unit
Part Number SI-AUXOP02

This unit provides a clean, regulated and fully isolated 150 Watt, 24 volt DC supply for use with Falcon accessories. In addition, it provides a connection to a spare screened twisted in the ROV umbilical for control purposes or data transmission.

The unit is protected against damage from

• Output short circuit
• Input supply out of range plus input transients
• Over temperature
• Back EMF from inductive loads (contactors, solenoids)
• Regenerative loads (motors with high inertia loads)

Auxiliary 24 volt DC PSU

SPECIFICATIONS MAY CHANGE WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE