Robotics · Inspection · Field Deployment

Field Robotics
& Inspection

Where divers can't go, draining isn't an option, and standard equipment stops at the entrance — remotely operated systems built for the access problem itself.

Domain Remote inspection · Confined & hard-to-reach environments

Scope Design · Fabrication · Integration · Deployment · Operator training

Context

Environments that reject standard equipment

Tunnels, culverts, tanks, basins, quarries, confined waterways — some sites can't be inspected the usual way. No diver access, no draining option, no wheeled robot that fits the geometry, sometimes an atmosphere no one should enter.

Off-the-shelf ROVs and drones are built for general use. When the access point is a narrow pipe, the water is turbid or contaminated, and the vehicle needs a tether for power and control, the standard product stops being the answer.

I design and build the vehicle around the access problem — and work alongside the professional diving teams who operate it.

What I do

Underwater & surface vehicles

ROVs and surface vehicles matched to the geometry, visibility and access constraints of each site — from an adapted commercial platform to a full custom build.

Tethered systems

Power, control and data over tether, engineered for spaces that leave no room for error. Autonomy isn't the goal — reliability is.

Sensors & cameras

Camera and sensor payloads chosen for the inspection objective: structural assessment, visual survey, environmental data.

Deployment & handover

Field testing, deployment and operator handover — a system one person can transport and run, not a lab prototype.

Approach

Built for the access point, not the open field

A vehicle designed for open water rarely survives contact with a real confined site. I start from the actual constraint — opening size, water clarity, current, obstacles, atmosphere — and design vehicle, tether and control system to match.

Where standard parts don't fit, they're fabricated. Where an open platform exists, it's reused — the control architecture is shared between vehicles, so operators keep the same tools from one machine to the next.

Platforms & technologies

Base platforms

BlueROV2 Heavy for underwater work. Custom hulls and frames for surface vehicles.

Control

Pixhawk + Raspberry Pi, ArduPilot, Blue Robotics Cockpit interface.

Network

Tethered Ethernet over neutrally buoyant cable. Fibre optic for extended range in development.

Operator side

Compact field controllers, dedicated recording and logging station.

Who I work with

Operators who need to see where no one can go

Diving and inspection companies, industrial site operators, infrastructure managers — anyone responsible for tanks, basins, tunnels, culverts or waterways where sending a person in isn't an option.

If divers, draining or standard drones aren't viable, that's the starting point.

How an engagement works

1 · Scoping

Sites to inspect, access constraints, expected output. At each step, you decide whether to continue.

2 · Platform choice

Adapt an existing platform or build custom — whichever fits the access problem.

3 · Build & test

Turnkey build, integration and field tests on representative sites.

4 · Evolution

New sensors, range, ATEX isolation — added as the next site requires.

Field Robotics& Inspection