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Industry · Research & SurveyFieldwork that no longer needs a ship and a pilot.
Compact ROVs have changed what a research budget can reach. Where an expedition once required a large vessel and a specialist pilot, a single researcher can now deploy within minutes - and, more importantly, come back to the same site next season and get comparable data.
Access, repeatability, and a budget that has to justify itself
Research constraints are different from commercial ones. The equipment has to be operable by whoever is available, produce data a reviewer will accept, and survive being shared between departments.
Ship time is the scarcest resource
Vessel and dive-team availability sets the research calendar. A platform that launches from a small boat or a jetty converts an annual expedition into something that can happen when conditions are right.
Change detection needs the same frame twice
Longitudinal work depends on returning to a fixed site with known positioning. Without it, two surveys of the same reef are two anecdotes rather than a time series.
The operator will be a researcher, not a pilot
Systems that need a dedicated ROV pilot do not get used. The ones that transform a programme are the ones a PhD student can deploy unsupervised.
Four kinds of survey work
Marine biology & species survey
Habitat assessment, population survey, marine litter mapping and documentation of ecological change over time.
Oceanographic data collection
Multi-parameter sensing, water and sediment sampling, and environmental data gathered alongside visual observation in a single dive.
Seafloor mapping & geology
Bathymetric mapping, geological survey, and volcanic or seabed activity monitoring with positioned, repeatable coverage.
Archaeology & wreck documentation
Non-contact survey and photogrammetric documentation of wrecks and submerged sites, including condition monitoring over successive seasons.
How each job is done, and with what
Marine biology & habitat monitoring
Coral and habitat health assessment, species population surveys, marine litter mapping and climate change impact documentation. Used by Nordic research institutions to monitor northward species migration - ecological change that is invisible from the surface.
Environmental impact assessment
Pre- and post-development survey for offshore projects, water quality monitoring, sediment analysis and pollution source tracing. Modular payload systems integrate water samplers, sediment samplers and multi-parameter sensors for comprehensive collection in one dive.
Oceanography & seafloor mapping
Bathymetric mapping, volcanic activity monitoring, geological survey, shipwreck documentation and underwater archaeology. Inertial navigation enables autonomous 3D path planning and repeat inspection with centimetre-level positioning - which is what makes change detection over time possible.
Photogrammetry & digital twins
Systematic visual documentation for 3D photogrammetric models and change detection baselines. Station-keeping ensures consistent frame geometry and enables precise repeat-survey positioning for longitudinal monitoring.
Acoustic monitoring & wide-area survey
Where the question covers more water than a tethered vehicle can reach: long-endurance underwater acoustic recorders for passive monitoring, and survey AUVs for autonomous wide-area coverage.
Integration & custom payloads
Where a research programme needs its own sensor on the vehicle. Open platforms with documented SDKs and component-level supply make integration a project rather than a negotiation.
Which platform suits which programme
The honest deciding question for research is whether you intend to modify the vehicle. That splits the field cleanly.
If it must just work
Blueye X-series
Deployable by research staff without ROV specialist training, with an open Python SDK when you do want to automate. The straightforward choice for a programme that needs data, not a robotics project.
Blueye platforms →
If you intend to modify it
Blue Robotics
Open platforms and component-level supply on the BlueOS and ArduSub stack - thrusters, enclosures, sensors. The right answer when the vehicle is part of the research rather than a tool for it.
Blue Robotics components →
If you need to measure, not just see
Cerulean Sonar
Imaging and scanning sonar, echosounders, altimeters and acoustic tracking sized for small platforms - and positioning, without which repeat survey is not really repeat survey.
Sonar catalogue →Documented deployments of the systems we supply
Reported by the manufacturer and the institution - not our own project work.
Documenting species migration at depth, season after season
The challenge
Climate change researchers needed to document northward species migration and habitat change at depth - requiring repeat surveys at fixed underwater sites, without specialist ROV pilots on the team.
The result
The ROV was deployed by research staff without ROV specialist training, and a repeat-survey capability was established for longitudinal climate data. The reported finding was that wrecks were being colonised by species not previously seen that far north.
Source: Blueye Robotics deployment documentation, citing the University of Tromsø. Nordic institutions including NTNU and UNIS are reported as using the same platforms for comparable work.
What else research groups come to us for
Sensors & payloads
Water quality sensors, positioning, DVL, grippers, samplers and lights - the parts that define what a dive actually measures.
Sensors & payloads →Autonomous systems
Untethered survey vehicles and uncrewed surface platforms for coverage a tethered vehicle cannot reach.
AUVs & USVs →Acoustic recorders
Long-endurance passive acoustic monitoring for marine mammal and ambient noise studies.
RTsys systems →Rental
Cover a single field season or a funded project without a capital purchase, with worldwide mobilisation.
Rental fleet →What research groups usually ask first
Can a researcher operate one without pilot training?
Yes, and this is the single change that has made ROVs viable for research programmes. Modern compact systems are designed for single non-specialist operator deployment, and university staff, fish farm operators and coastguard crews routinely run them without dedicated ROV pilot training. Deployment is typically three to five minutes.
Can we integrate our own sensor?
On some platforms, yes - and this is worth deciding before you buy rather than after. Open platforms offer documented SDKs and component-level supply, which makes integration a straightforward engineering task. Closed platforms may give you a better vehicle out of the box but a much harder integration path. Tell us what you want to mount and we will point you at the ones that will actually accept it.
How do we get data comparable between field seasons?
Positioning is the answer, and it is the thing most often left out of a first purchase. Station-keeping and acoustic or inertial positioning let you return to the same site with the same framing, which is what converts successive surveys into a time series rather than a set of unrelated observations.
Can we rent for a single funded project?
Yes. Short-term hire with worldwide mobilisation suits a defined field season or a project with equipment funding that does not extend to a capital purchase - and it is also the cheapest way to find out whether a platform suits your sites. See the rental fleet.
Tell us the research question
What you need to observe or measure, where, how deep, who will operate it, and whether you intend to add your own sensors. That last point changes the recommendation completely.
Thank you - that's with us.
We will come back to you within one working day. If it is urgent, call +45 6916 2400.