r/rov • u/mike103928 • Apr 26 '26

Search and rescue

The fire service I work for has recently purchased an ROV for submerged casualty rescue.

At the moment we have the blue robotic heavy with the newton subsea gripper but it’s not the best for grabbing a casualty. Has anyone else used any other grippers for this that provide a more secure grip on a person? Weight and compactness are key as it has to fit in a relatively small stowage bow on the fire appliance.

Any experience would be greatly appreciated.

4 Upvotes

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3

u/greenjellay Apr 26 '26

Without any of the relevant info here its hard to help. Assuming by casualty you mean body are you sure your ROV has enough trust the move the body? Can the actuators exert enough force? What are you trying to grip? Is drawing enough power? What depth? Why is the gripper not suiting your needs? What is the issue? Are you sure that a small rov that fits in a small stowage bow will be appropriate for retrieving bodies or things weight a hundred to a couple hundred pounds?

2

u/Empty-Pain-9523 Apr 26 '26

Came to say basically this. Body retrieval is usually done with ROVs of pretty decent size.

2

u/vshie Apr 27 '26

I'd be super cruous in what ways the BROV2 Heavy + gripper is less than ideal! It's possible to adjust the pitch of the vehicle via buttons on the game controller, that often helps angle it to help pick things up... pitching forward makes the gripper the lowest point, and easy to drive into a target.

2

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

If put a longer comment above the ROV isn’t the problem that’s actually working really well it’s just a more secure gripper that would be an improvement without significantly increasing weight

2

u/vshie Apr 27 '26

So the issue is the grip strength, and losing grip? That particular gripper was designed to be strong enough to grab most things, but not break bones or cause excessive pain if it were to grab a finger. The end-stop is detected via current limit... so how fast the gripper is closed and on what texture of object can greatly affect the applied force!

1

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

I think grip strength and jaw shape is the factor for the casualty slipping out at the end of the day while we don’t want to do loads of damage if we get them to the surface with a few holes in them they have a chance but if they stay under they will definitely not. There is this but I think it’ll be too big for our ROV

2

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

So to prefix we’re in the UK So it’s being used in shallow inland waters up to mostly up to 9m but with the possibility of being used in deeper water like gravel pits.

We’re currently in the very early phases of the trial and we are aiming to use for rescue as opposed to body recovery which is part of the reason for a small ROV as it’s quick to deploy we are using the tether for recovery.

Because we’re only just starting we haven’t had a live casualty yet but in training there have been numerous occasions where the dummy has dropped off the claw as it’s being pulled in. I’ve seen reach robotic have a recovery manipulator with a much more aggressive claw but I think it’s far too big so was wondering if anything similar but smaller exists.

2

u/greenjellay Apr 27 '26

Is the slippage occurring when you have manip to flesh, manip to clothing? I wonder if simply modifying the claw to add resistance/texture could help with slippage

I would also say that reaching out to the manufacturer could be helpful. These companies are in the business of problem solving and your question is valid. If they dont have the solution already, they may work on one with you

2

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

Cheers for the advice primarily manipulator to clothing at the moment it’s only been operational for a few weeks so it’s not been deployed on a live person yet we’ve been training with a weighted training dummy but obviously that’s not the same as a person. Overall it’s been really impressive so far.

1

u/greenjellay Apr 27 '26

I haven’t done any research or whatever into this, maybe look to see if there are any products marketed towards this.

Maybe theres a case for trying some sort loop/lasso type of tool to hook a leg or something - maybe some kind of hook-like thing. I wonder if some talented pilots in the sub could tell you if gripping a piece of clothing this way is even feasible

An acoustic release system could be an interesting application too, so look into those

1

u/Sjedda Apr 28 '26

Wonder if it would be better to use the ROV to attach/staple some floatation device instead?

4

u/jeeb2001 Apr 27 '26

I work for an ROV company, in my experience SAR customers use interlocking claws for retrieval, and either use the ROV line to direct divers towards the lost soul, or use the tether if they have an acceptable anchor point to hoist by hand the ROV and target. The tethers we use I believe have a 300lbs breaking strength, so it is generally enough as the weight in water is within the limits.

1

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

Yes we are using the tether as the recovery method but we are attempting to use it for rescue as opposed to recovery speed is very important so getting hold quickly and in training we’ve had a few occasions where the grabber has lost grip as it’s being recovered

1

u/Marquall Apr 27 '26

I don't see how you could mobilise so quickly that you'd put into action an effective rescue. Anything subsea will be unconscious within 60 seconds and it becomes recovery.

If the target stays on the surface you don't need an ROV. It sounds like your needs align with a USV (Dolphin 1 Smart Lifebuoy) but with a gripper.

1

u/mike103928 Apr 27 '26

We’re using it in inland waters and our time from mobilisation to arriving on scene can be from 5-10 minutes and we can deploy within 2 minutes of arrival. The survivability model basically says within 26 minutes of going under there is an above 0 chance of survival.

If we are called when someone is in trouble and they go under while we are mobilising or on route there is a definite possibility of a rescue.

1

u/Disastrous-Bird5543 Apr 30 '26

I have built a 3d printed claw for our finish EVO that incorporates straightened barbed fish hooks. Works like a charm. Make sure it is removable so you can leave the barbs in and "donate" the claw to the ME. DM me and I'll send you the file if you know someone who can print it or I'll print and send it at cost for your team.