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Underwater Inspection Cameras

ks_banner_oilrig_09 Highlight ArrowCameras used on ROVs and AUVs


Underwater video cameras used on Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV), Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and by Divers for inspection of underwater structures and pipelines must be chosen carefully to give the best of high-resolution, good contrast and low sensitivity to produce high quality, detailed underwater video images.

Colour zoom cameras tend to be the most popular for ROV inspection applications and colour with fixed focal lenses for Diver video inspection applications.

When choosing an underwater camera specifically for inspection purposes the following should be considered.

Considerations


Colour
Will a colour image provide additional useful information? e.g. show rust deposits, help identify marine fouling etc.

Resolution
Is a measure of the level of fine detail that the camera is capable of resolving. The higher the resolution the more likely it is to spot fine structural defects.

Zoom
If it is impractical to get really close to the scene then zoom is a definite advantage if not a necessity.

Digital Imaging
Gives the ultimate in fine detail, at near photo resolution a digital image can be further zoomed when captured to show detail that even the human eye may not normally see.

Control Methods
Are your choices limited to those already available on an ROV? Would serial control of zoom and focus plus additional functions not otherwise available be useful? Would control of the iris to allow dealing with tricky lighting conditions be advantageous? Is it necessary to open the camera to set alternative control methods?

Spectral Response
One of the fundamental physical properties of seawater is that it does not transmit all colours of the light spectrum equally. The maximum transmission in seawater occurs with light having a wavelength of 450 nanometres. This corresponds to blue/green on the colour spectrum. The relative transmission through one metre of seawater is around 98%. An important point to note is that the longer wavelengths of light (the red end of the colour spectrum) are more severely attenuated. At a wavelength of 650 nanometres (red) the relative transmission is around 73% and over a 4 metre distance this is reduced to around 30%. At 450 nanometres and 4 metres distance the relative transmission is still in excess of 90%.

The effect on colour camera performance is that as viewing range increases, the red wavelengths of light are lost from the image and the camera cannot maintain a natural colour balance and the camera image becomes more dominated by the blue/green wavelengths of light. In practical use it has been found that because of this effect, underwater colour cameras can only produce a natural colour balance within about 2 – 3 metres of the subject.

It is important to note that this phenomenon is independent of the light sensitivity or zoom capability of the colour camera or of the power of any artificial lighting used.

Light Sensitivity
For underwater inspection applications this is an important parameter. Cameras with very good light sensitivity offer a number of advantages:
  • Long range viewing
  • Reasonable operation in turbid conditions
  • Maximise the opportunity to gain true colour reproduction at closer ranges
  • Reduced light power requirements

Lens
A zoom lens is the most popular choice for the underwater inspection camera although a steady platform is essential when telephoto is activated. For this reason zoom is not that practical for diver operations unless the diver can use a cross member as a seat or steady thus reducing the need to “swim” the total structure.
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Recommended Products
Kongsberg produce a range of cameras suited to inspection tasks.

The following cameras can all be considered as inspection cameras. Please refer to the individual specification sheets for further details.
  • OE1365
    High Resolution NTSC Colour Camera

oe1365_thumb
  • OE14-364
    High Resolution PAL Colour Camera

oe14-364_thumb
oe14-366_thumb
oe14-112_thumb
oe14-120_thumb
  • OE14-122/123
    High Resolution Domed Pan and Tilt Zoom Colour Camera

oe14-122_thumb
OE14-500 HDTV HD-SDI Camera
oe14-500A/501A
oe1358