By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — The remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), better known as a submersible, has become stuff of the movies ever since it was used in some scenes in the movie Titanic. It found huge applications in the underwater research, mining and salvaging sectors.
One Filipino company aims to be a player in this industry.
Pobletech Inc recently released the Roboteknik i100, country’s first commercial ROV, a robotic machine that can submerge to a depth of up to100 meters and be controlled via remote control box. The ROV and the control box are all connected via an umbilical cord that serves as both power and data cable for the ROV, which transmits live streaming video to a monitor on a control box.
Because the Roboteknik runs on external power, it could be operated for over 24 hours while operators of the ROV work in shifts. The ROV could also be outfitted with external attachments, such as soil and water sample collectors, robotic arms and special cameras.
Meanwhile, the control unit has its own hard disk drive to save hundreds of hours of videos and photos.
The Roboteknik i100 was designed and built by Pobletech’s research arm Roboteknik Inc.
The company is also a recipient of the Ayala-Technology Business Incubator at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
In an interview, Pobletech CEO Michael Poblete said that the device can be used for offshore projects, particularly on oil and gas exploration.
They have also offered their machine as part of the recovery efforts of the recent shipping disaster involving Sulpicio Lines’ MV Princess of the Stars.
“This machine can be made available anytime and be deployed easily. It’s also less expensive to operate compared to the ROVs from other countries,” Poblete said, adding that the cost of the machine varies depending on the project.
Poblete said that they are currently in development of a newer version of the Roboteknik that could go as deep as 500 meters. The new Roboteknik will also be capable of more attachments for research and exploration purposes.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
congrats Pobletech Inc!
yes, the Filipino can!
July 22nd, 2008 at 6:54 am
I hope colonial mentality won’t get the better of them, I hope they’ll make use and support this product.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 am
Asteeg!
This would be wonderful for scientific studies of Philippine waters and the Laguna lake, even the underground rivers of Palawan!
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 am
It should have been introduced long before,at least now we are in the bridge of development regarding ROV, I was a student of ROV and still amazed what an ROV can do. Go for it Pinoy!
Elmer
Dubai,UAE