The Falcon Running Lock Latch System comprises a Bullet Assembly, that replaces the vehicle's standard umbilical attachment point, and a Running Lock Latch Assembly that can be used in combination with a lifting winch to launch and recover Falcon ROVs without putting strain on the ROV umbilical. This is ideal for use on oil rigs or from other elevated launch sites!
Some operators leave the lock latch in the water following release of the ROV to act as a clump weight below the splash zone helping to keep the umbilical clear of the ship's propellers and thrusters.
Single Function, 3 Jaw Manipulator & Rope Cutter - all in one useful tool!
This clever single function manipulator has three, 100 mm stainless steel jaws enabling vertical or horizontal objects to be grasped without the need of the rotate function required with traditional two jaw manipulators. Particularly useful for freeing trapped umbilicals, light recovery tasks or attaching a line, we recommend this device as the first choice of accessory to add to the vehicle.
This tool can also be used to cut 9 mm diameter rope with the simple installation of a craft or 'Stanley Knife' blade that remains fully protected while the jaws are closed.
Open and close of the jaws is controlled on the Falcon hand controller.
5 Function Manipulator Skid
The Falcon 5 function manipulator skid contains a small hydraulic power pack, a pressure compensation bladder and valve pack fitted with 5 bi-directional solenoid valves to operate each of the manipulator's 5 functions. Attachment to and removal from the vehicle is very quick with power and control supplied from the ROV to the skid via a single connector. Additional buoyancy is built into the skid to compensate for its additional weight.
The manipulator functions are operated by a dedicated hand controller and include 90 degree shoulder rotate and 180 degree jaw rotate. The jaws incorporate a ¼ inch rope cutter and the arm has a lift capacity of 10 kg at full reach. Maximum torque is 8Nm with a system pressure of 80 bar.
Wire Rope Cutter Skid
This hydraulically powered, skid mounted cutter is capable of cutting up to 19 mm diameter polypropylene rope or 12 mm stainless steel wire rope. It is a 3 function device providing 180 degree shoulder rotate, an elbow function and operation of the ram-type cutter blade.
Sonar
Sonar is the underwater equivalent of radar and is used to increase the detection range of subsea objects far beyond the visual range of the ROV's camera. This significantly adds to the operational capability of any ROV particularly in search and survey operations as well as for obstacle avoidance. It can also be a great help to the ROV pilot in orientating himself and the ROV to its surroundings, particularly in poor visibility. In extreme conditions it may be impossible to usefully operate an ROV without sonar.
The sonar head is installed on the vehicle with the transducer protected by a polypropylene guard. The sonar data is transmitted to the surface processor through a spare screened twisted pair in the ROV umbilical and the sonar image is displayed on a monitor housed in a 19 inch racked transit case with the sonar processor. Some manufacturers offer sonar processing software that can be installed on the clients own PC as an alternative to using their surface sonar processor.
Cameras
Falcon is provided with a high-resolution NTSC or PAL colour CCD camera as standard. A second camera can be added if required. A toggle switch is provided on the Falcon hand controller to select between cameras A and B.
Alternative or additional camera options from various manufacturers include:
Low light black and white cameras
Pan and Tilt cameras
Zoom cameras
Image Scaling System
Laser technology, used in conjunction with a high quality zoom camera and specially designed imaging software, are combined to provide a highly accurate underwater measuring tool.
Four lasers housed inside the camera provide parallel beams that are visible on the surface under inspection. A fifth laser is mounted at a predefined angle and can also be seen on the surface under inspection. This fifth laser provides a reference point, which is used to calculate an accurate distance to the reference point.
This camera is mounted in a combined 360 degree balanced tilt mechanism and camera housing designed by Seaeye for the Seaeye Falcon. The camera tilt angle is displayed on the Falcon Video overlay. The housing includes a remotely switched, variable intensity, Seaeye flood light. A hinged door cover is provided to protect the camera lens when the ROV is not in use.
CP probes are used to measure the cathodic potential of subsea structures. The Seaeye Falcon can accommodate either a 'contact' or 'proximity' probe as the operation requires. A contact probe is illustrated above.
The measured CP voltage is displayed on the Falcon Surface Unit video overlay.
Cleaning Brush
Powered by a Falcon thruster motor, this accessory is ideal for spot cleaning before taking CP readings, wall thickness measurements or the use of a flooded member detector (FMD). It is not intended for cleaning large areas of subsea structures for which a larger ROV like the Seaeye Lynx or Seaeye Panther Plus fitted with a heavy duty cleaning brush would be more appropriate.
Ultra Sonic Thickness Gauge
Ultrasonic thickness gauges use acoustic echo techniques to determine the thickness of structures and materials underwater. This involves the generation of a sound wave, and the measurement of time taken for a far side echo's to pass through the material of the structure under test.
Measurement data is transferred from the ROV mounted probe up to the surface via the Falcon's umbilical cable. Dedicated software displays the measurements and logs all test data.
Typical applications include deepwater pipeline inspection, ship inspections, lock gate, pier and piling inspections.
Umbilical Hand Winch
In order to avoid twisting and kinking it is usual to coil the ROV umbilical in a figure of 8 on deck or over cow horns mounted on a bulkhead and then pay out and recover the umbilical by hand. The use of an umbilical winch is a more convenient and space saving solution.
The Series 5 umbilical hand winch has a capacity of 450 metres of 13 mm umbilical. A slip ring is included so that umbilical can be reeled in and out during ROV flying operations. With a frame and drummed constructed of polypropylene with aluminium spacer bars, this new IP68 rated hand winch is 15 kilos lighter than previous units.
IP68 Waterproof Surface Control Equipment
IP68 rating is an internationally recognised standard that certifies equipment against the ingress of dust (solids) and water (liquids). The IP68 Falcon surface equipment is totally protected from any ingress of water during prolonged periods of immersion that can be encountered in hostile maritime environments.
An additional benefit of the IP68 Surface Equipment is lower weight and enhanced portability. By using the IP68 option less space is required for the surface equipment, deployment and transit is simplified, creating a more versatile package.
24 Volt Auxiliary Power Supply Unit
This unit provides a clean, regulated and fully isolated 150 Watt, 24 volt DC supply for use with Falcon accessories. In addition, it provides a connection to a spare screened twisted in the ROV umbilical for control purposes or data transmission.
The unit is protected against damage from
Output short circuit
Input supply out of range plus input transients
Over temperature
Back EMF from inductive loads (contactors, solenoids)
Regenerative loads (motors with high inertia loads)
