Configure ROVsim²

Once you have the monitors set up correctly you can close the window and launch ROVsim².
In ROVsim², open the “Settings” page and then select “Configure” under “Display, input and output”. On
that page select the number of monitors you have installed and then click on the “Test” button to verify
that your monitors are configured properly. If they are, each monitor should be completely filled with a
different colored box. If not, you may need to adjust either the Windows configuration or the “tweak”
plus (+) and minus (-) buttons in ROVsim². Once this is adjusted, click on the “Return” button and your
settings will be saved.

And you’re done!

ROVsim Input Manager Tutorial

Home / ROVsim Input Manager Tutorial

Use ROVsim’s Input Manager to configure your Surface Controller

ROVsim Surface Control Unit Mk 4

ROVsim simulators are designed to work with virtually any USB input device that complies with the
Microsoft Windows HID (Human Interface Device) standard. This allows you to use common, off the
shelf controllers (such as the Logitech F310 or Extreme 3D joysticks) as well as custom, professional units
(such as the ROVsim Surface Control Unit Mk 4). To allow you to configure ROVsim for your controller,
we’ve included the Input Manager.

To access the Input Manager, launch the ROVsim application and when the “Splash Screen Window”
appears, using your mouse cursor, click on the “Input” tab.
ROVsim Input Manager

In that tab you will notice 3 columns: “Control”, “Primary” and “Secondary”. “Control” describes what
that input function does. Primary is the primary controller (usually the joystick or other USB device) and
Secondary is usually a keyboard key.

To change an input function, scroll down the list and locate the “Control” description you wish to
change. Then move your cursor over the “Primary” input and double click using your mouse. A small
pop-up window will appear to prompt you to press a button or move a joystick.

 
After clicking in the Input Manager, press the desired button.

Press the button, switch or move the joystick in the desired direction. The pop-up window will disappear
and in the “Primary” column will be the new device name (such as “Joystick0Button3”).

The Input Manager is very sensitive and it is possible to accidentally move the wrong button or joystick
during this process. If you make a mistake, no worries, just repeat the process. With just a little practice
you will easily configure an entire controller in just a few minutes.

ROVsim Custom Mission Designer

Creating your own custom mission environment is EASY.  Watch this video to learn how.

http://marinesimulation.com/tutorials/

Design and fabrication of a mini ROV – Part One

The final design.

Until very recently, the design and fabrication of an underwater ROV was largely beyond the abilities
of the average person. It required a solid understanding of a wide range of disciplines, from
electronics to hydrodynamics, as well as experience with and access to a number of very expensive
tools. A few very successful KickStarter projects, most noteably one by Blue Robotics, have reduced
the skills and tools required so that small businesses, schools and even individuals with average skills
and simple tools can now build a fully functional ROV.

Recently I decided to try it for myself. My goals were that it be highly maneuverable, easily transported
and as quick and easy to assemble as possible. The design I settled on is a 6 vectored thruster, battery
powered, open frame ROV that was mostly planned around Blue Robotics thrusters and housings. The
frame and other parts I designed and had laser cut from ABS plastic.

It took almost 2 weeks for the parts to arrive and roughly a day for me to assemble it all. The thrusters
and housings from Blue Robotics look well made and assembled easily. The only tools I used were a set
of allen wrenches. I’m impressed!
In my next post I will discuss the electronics and electrical systems I’m using and then in the final
installment will be the results of my tests. If you’d like to be kept up to date on my progress, be sure
to “Like” our Facebook page.

Garmin Panoptix – Affordable Multi-Beam Sonar

When I first learned about Garmin’s new Panoptix sonar early this year I was excited. Real-time multi-
beam sonar at a consumer price point. Up until now, multi-beam sonars were strictly within the reign
of deep pocket organizations. I’ve had first hand experience with the technology during my work on
research ships, but now that technology has come so far down in price that even meer mortals could
afford it.
Garmin Panoptix PS 31 Transducer

Although Panoptix is targeted at inland fishermen, my hope was that it might be turned into a cost
effective sonar for ROV navigation. For months I scoured the internet and spoke with Garmin tech
support until I found enough information to decide that this might just work. The specs looked good and
the price looked even better.

The basic Panoptix system is composed of a transducer and display unit. All the sonar electronics are
inside the transducer and it communicates with the display via ethernet. The display unit I chose
includes a GPS and chart plotter, but Garmin offers a wide variety of displays with different options. All
together I paid $2,500 which is a lot for a fishing sonar, but a bargain for an ROV sonar.

Garmin had the fore thought to beef up the Panoptix transducer to specs well beyond what the average
fisherman would require. The transducer is liquid filled and rated to 93 meters depth, the
communications protocol is Ethernet and both topside and transducer units sip DC power at less than an
amp.

All the specs and information sounded good. All that was left to do was to buy one. Here’s some screen
shots from my first day of testing the unit. This first test was from a fixed mount next to my boat in the
marina. I know this particular section of water fairly well as I often test ROVs in this very same spot.

This first shot is of what Garmin calls its “TruView 3D” display. The water was roughly 15 feet deep.
Although Garmin claims the Panoptix maximum range to be 300 feet, I found it to be closer to 100 feet
in the conditions here.
Here’s another shot that shows some of the structure, specifically the concrete piling about 5 feet from
the transducer and the floating concrete dock roughly 60 feet away. Both show pretty clearly as does
the harbor floor.

Here’s a shot of what Garmin calls the “LiveVu 2D” display. This view gives you a “real time” vertical 90
degree slice of what’s ahead. By turning the transducer left and right, I can home in on a target, in this
case the concrete piling.
Here’s another “LiveVu” shot, this time you can clearly see the rudder on the boat next to the
transducer almost exactly at the top 5 foot mark.

First impressions of Garmin’s Panoptix are all positive.  My plan is to power the transducer with a LiPo
battery and integrate its Ethernet into an ROV’s communications system.  I’ll post more details and
results in a future blog post.

Visit the Garmin Panoptix web page for more information.

UPDATE 1 May 2016

Not too much news to report, but here’s what I’ve learned so far:

 Garmin has released numerous software updates for both the GPSmap 741 display and Panoptix
PS31 transducer since my last post. I’ve submitted several suggestions that would make using
the Panoptix better for our purposes and I’m hoping they will be implemented.

 Garmin has also released a new sonar mode called “FrontVu”. FrontVu is a more detailed
vertical slice of the water and structure directly ahead of the transducer. I’ve not had a chance
to try it yet but it looks interesting and may be worthwhile for
some: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-water/panoptix/panoptix-ps21-tm-forward-
transom-mount-transducer/prod548982.html

 At the same time Garmin also released a new Panoptix transducer, the PS21, which is smaller
and 30% less expensive than the PS31. Although it doesn’t support RealVu 3D (3D multibeam) it
supports “LiveVu-Forward” and “FrontVu”.

 Lastly, as some may recall that one of the things I first learned about the Garmin system was
that the transducer and display communicate via an Ethernet clone they call “Garmin Marine
Network”. To see if any of the components might be recognized by my computer network I
connected both the PS31 transducer and GPSmap 741 to a router. The router immediately
connected with the 741 but not the transducer.

I’m still working on how best to integrate the transducer and ethernet comms into my ROV. I’ve got a
couple ideas but nothing that I’m particularly happy with.

For anyone who may be contemplating mounting the Panoptix PS-31 / PS-30 transducer on an ROV or
other platform, here is a 3D model of the transducer in .STL format:  CLICK TO DOWNLOAD