Integration of a hyperspectral sensor on the Argos ROV
As part of an R&D project led by Touria Bajjouk and funded by the Department of Partnership and Transfer for Innovation of Ifremer, an integration test survey was co-organized by Ifremer and the company Forssea, with the technical support of the Positioning, Robotics, Acoustics and Optics Department of the Ifremer center in Toulon. It took place from June 13 to 17, 2022.
During this survey, Forssea's ROV Argos was used from the CELADON research vessel of Sea Test Base Platform to deploy the UHI hyperspectral sensor marketed by our Norwegian partner ECOTONE. Argos is an ROV rated to 500m, which contains many autonomous features. For this mission, the sensor payload included an INS, a DVL, a depth sensor, and an Obscam camera. A skid was added to the ROV with an additional sensor payload including an additional Obscam, and the hyperspectral camera provided by Ifremer.
The objectives of this survey were:
- To qualify the ARGOS ROV with IFREMER Ecotone HS camera and validate interfaces and acquisition protocols
- To assess the ARGOS ROV performance from non-DP/light coastal vessel in the context of shallow water surveys
- To perform an acquisition survey at different area of interest in both Rade de Brest and Baie de Concarneau
This survey was co-organized by Touria Bajjouk and Aurelien Tancray (LEBCO) and Gautier Drefus (Forssea) with the participation of Aurélien ARNAUBEC (SM-PRAO), Axel Ehrohld (GEOOCEAN), Pierre-Olivier Liabot (LEBCO) and the assistance of Ifremer diving team (Amelia Curd, Martin Plus, Nicolas Le Viavant, Jeremie Gouriou and Erwan Goas). We also benefited from the technical support of Olivier HERLORY (LITTORAL-LERPAC) for the deployment of PAM.