ROPOS ("Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Science") is an
ROV used primarily for scientific research. It was originally built in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
by International Submarine Engineering and purchased by the Canadian federal government. The same government program also operated the ''
Pisces IV'' crewed submersible, now in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...
being run by the Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) who found the long-lost two-man Japanese sub which heralded the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
.
The funding for the Canadian submersible program eventually dried up, but by that time the user group had been established and long term experiments put in place on the sea floor. The Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility (CSSF) was formed and leased ROPOS from the government for several years before finally purchasing the ROV a few years ago. In 2005 the vehicle was extensively rebuilt and now boasts a thru-frame lift capability (see below).
The ROV is controlled and powered from a surface vessel. Electrical power is supplied through an umbilical, or tether, which also has an optical fibre for telemetry and data. Electrical power is used to power components such as lights and cameras, but most of the energy is used in an electric motor to drive a hydraulic pump. The hydraulic pump in turn powers the thrusters and hydraulic components of the ROV. This is referred to as an electro-hydraulic system.
ROPOS is unusual as it is routinely modified to work in three different ranges: 1000 m (540 fathoms); 4000m (2,187 fathoms); and (rarely) 5,000 m (2,700 fathoms).
Each set up is progressively larger. ROPOS also has "plug and play" equipment; A hot fluid sampler (HFS) at about and requires 120 V AC and a data line to function, and a number of different hydraulic functions which are available for scientific equipment, similar to the
Woods Hole
Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 at ...
vehicles ''Jason'' and ''Jason 2''.
Thru-frame lift
ROPOS is capable of lifting off the sea floor: the load is attached to the ROV and is lifted by the mid-depth system LARS (launch and recovery system), an enhanced crane modified to accommodate the ROV.
Notes
External links
ROPOS{{Submarine-stub
Robotic submarines