What’s the Difference Between Deep Trekker ROVs?

Deep Trekker’s ROV lineup includes the DTG3, PHOTON, PIVOT, and REVOLUTION.

The DTG3 is a mini observation-class underwater ROV built to deploy rapidly and quickly conduct visual inspections in underwater environments. Its lightweight design provides exceptional portability, but limits its power and feature capabilities, such as DVL sensor upgrades or an integrated tool platform. It operates using a three thruster design, meaning the operator will have to manipulate the pitch or yaw for vertical and lateral movements. The DTG3 is an excellent affordable option for simple underwater inspections.

The PIVOT and REVOLUTION are true observation class ROVs. Engineered with carbon fiber and stainless steel, the REVOLUTION delivers dramatic power, enhanced capabilities and inspiring performance in harsh conditions. The PIVOT offers a similar design to the REVOLUTION, but its scaled down size provides improved portability and maneuverability in tight spaces. Both models utilize six vectored thrusters to complete vertical and lateral movements, and come integrated with rotating tool platforms capable of carrying out a variety of tasks.

The PHOTON is a small-sized micro-ROV with the six thruster stability of the larger ROVs. The PHOTON is not the ideal platform for a large number of add-ons, and limits some of the features such as the ability to rotate the sonar or grabber like you can on the PIVOT or REVOLUTION, but still provides users with a capable experience in a smaller package and lower price.

REVOLUTION

The REVOLUTION ROV is the most powerful, intelligent, and stable ROV in the Deep Trekker lineup. Its six vectored thrusters provide unmatched control in harsh underwater conditions, and when combined with its 305m depth rating, makes it ideal for complex deep ocean missions.

The integrated camera and grabber arm can rotate up to 260 degrees. This wide range of view means seamless transitions of focus points. The pilot can look up during a hull inspection, rotate to scan a wall, pan along the seafloor, or get the best angle to manipulate an object, all without changing the ROVs position.

A favorite feature of many operators is the rotating capability when adding an imaging sonar. With this ROV add-on, you can adjust the angle to sweep targets and get precise viewing angles. Because of its stable design and vertical thrusters which enable lateral movements, the REVOLUTION provides excellent performance with USBL and sonar.

You can also rely on extended battery operating time from a full charge. Thanks to the quick-change battery system, it's also extremely easy to perform field battery changes in well under a minute.

"When everything was said and done, all three forebay inspections were completed 100% satisfactory, were done safer and faster, and with the innovation of using the REVOLUTION ROV vs. divers, has the ability to save my company millions for the investment of a few thousand into an ROV." - Thomas Griner, Operations Officer, Nuclear Power Facility, Midwest USA

REVOLUTION BASE PACKAGE

The REVOLUTION Base package includes the BRIDGE integrated controller + SD Card. The ROV comes equipped with the 260 degree rotating camera head and grabber, LED floodlights and a 10cm laser scaler for accurate estimations of object sizes. The base package includes a battery set as well as a spare set to efficiently swap for extended missions.

The batteries take just 30 seconds to change and one and a half to three hours to recharge, meaning virtually endless power if you ladder charging between uses. If you prefer constant direct power, there is a direct power option for the REVOLUTION as well as the PIVOT ROVs.

The REVOLUTION Base package also includes a 300m tether on a tether reel but can be upgraded to 1 kilometer or more. To bring it all together, two rugged pelican carrying cases are included to house the whole system; providing excellent portability for such an advanced system.

REVOLUTION NAV PACKAGE

The REVOLUTION NAV package takes everything in the base package and adds advanced piloting capabilities with USBL and DVL sensors. These sensors enable the ability to track the ROV on a map, log points of interest, draw a trail, plan missions, and even deploy autonomous routes with the Mission Planner feature.

This means, with the NAV package, operators can navigate to set targets and perform pre-programmed routes, allowing the pilot to focus on the camera and sonar feeds instead of operation.

On top of this, these sensors have the capability to enable ‘auto-depth’ from the seafloor, as well as produce GPX and CSV files to house location data during operation. The NAV package also includes a service parts kit and an extended two year warranty for a complete, comprehensive experience.

REVOLUTION RECON PACKAGE

The REVOLUTION RECON package takes the NAV package to the next level. This package enhances shallow water inspections with dead reckoning, automatic station holding, and advanced navigation tools like the 2-jaw manipulator, SensorPod+, A50 DVL, and ROV GPS for precise underwater operations.

The RECON package allows pilots to track the ROV’s position, leaving trails and marking points of interest, which is especially beneficial in murky waters or strong currents.

The RECON package also includes a service parts kit and an extended two year warranty like the NAV package.

REVOLUTION SAR PACKAGE

The REVOLUTION SAR Package is a fully equipped ROV solution offering police, fire departments, and other emergency services advanced sonar, rotating grabber, and superior stabilization for efficient and precise underwater search and recovery operations.

This fully loaded ROV setup is the ultimate choice for marine units, offering unmatched power, precision, and versatility for search and recovery missions. Equipped with advanced 260 degree rotating sonar and grabber head, Mission Planner software, and superior stabilization features, it delivers reliable performance in the most challenging underwater environments.

The SAR package also includes an extended two year warranty.

PIVOT

The perfect balance between size and power. The PIVOT maintains an impressive six thruster design powered by swappable lithium ion batteries, and 305m depth rating just like the REVOLUTION. Unlike the REVOLUTION, the PIVOT’s overall body size is 13.4% smaller, and cuts its weight down to 37lbs, compared to the REVOLUTION’s 57lbs.

The camera and tool platform on the PIVOT operate on separate rotating fields, with the camera able to rotate up to 220 degrees for a wide viewing range to complete a multitude of tasks. The 97 degree rotating tool platform gives pilots the advantage of flexible imaging options and convenient tool manipulation from a stable position. Due to its similarities in control and stability to the REVOLUTION, the PIVOT also provides excellent performance with USBLs, DVLs and Imaging Sonars.

"After tracking the first year of ROV use, Foss realized an astounding actual and measurable impact of saving/earnings of a total of $135,650, which was DOUBLE original predictions." - Amanda Dayton, Shipyard Manager, Foss Maritime Company

PIVOT Smart Package

The PIVOT Smart package includes the BRIDGE integrated controller + SD Card. The ROV comes equipped with: the 220 degree rotating camera head, six precision thrusters, and LED floodlights to illuminate your targets.

The Smart package comes with a 100m tether on a reel and one battery for immediate operation. You will also receive two rugged Pelican carrying cases to house the entire system for enhanced portability. The Smart package is the ideal basic setup for visual inspections in higher current conditions while maintaining a lower total cost.

PIVOT Expert Package

The PIVOT Expert package includes everything listed in the Smart package, and adds the 97 degree tilting tool platform. The tool platform is capable of housing a variety of add-ons, and comes included with a grabber claw as part of the package. Upgrading to the Expert package provides a 150m tether instead of the standard 100m and includes a spare battery set for quick swaps to maintain power on extended missions.

PIVOT NAV Package

The PIVOT NAV Package is the most comprehensive package offered for the PIVOT. On top of everything included in the Expert package, it adds the same USBL and DVL sensors that enable the advanced navigation features of the REVOLUTION NAV.

USBL and DVL sensors enable you to track the ROV on a map, log points of interest and a trail, plan missions, and deploy autonomous routes via mission planner. These sensors also have the ability to produce comprehensive GPX and CSV data for reports. With the NAV package, you will also receive a service kit, 300m tether and two year extended warranty for peace of mind.

PIVOT RECON PACKAGE

The PIVOT RECON Package, similar to the REVOLUTION RECON package, provides dead reckoning technology, automatic station holding, and the easiest position tracking for precise underwater tasks. Complete with SensorPod+, A50 DVL, ROV GPS, and spare batteries, it's designed to deliver maximum control and efficiency for demanding operations.

To support ongoing operations, the RECON Package also comes with a service parts kit and an extended two-year warranty, providing peace of mind and reliable support for your underwater missions.

PIVOT SAR PACKAGE

The PIVOT SAR Package provides an all-in-one ROV solution tailored for police, fire departments, and emergency response teams. With its state-of-the-art sonar technology, tilting grabber arm, and exceptional stability, this package ensures efficient and accurate underwater search and recovery operations.

This package offers advanced capabilities with a 97-degree rotating grabber, sonar tilt platform, and DVL for automatic station keeping, allowing you to perform stable and accurate operations even in strong currents. Designed for search-and-rescue teams requiring enhanced control and efficiency, this complete solution enables seamless underwater victim recovery and precise sonar scanning in challenging conditions.

Additionally, the SAR Package is backed by an extended two-year warranty, offering assurance and reliability for your emergency response needs.

Common REVOLUTION, PIVOT, and PHOTON Add-ons

The most common add-ons for the PHOTON, PIVOT, and REVOLUTION are:

• Imaging Sonar Systems: With over half a dozen options available, these aid in navigation and target identification through murky conditions.
• Manipulator and Water Sampler Bundles: Grabber claws, water/sediment samplers, cutters, and mort pushers ensure readiness for a range of physical tasks.
• Thickness Gauges: The Cygnus Thickness Gauge Integration allows the operator to evaluate the thickness of steel on tanks, hulls or other metal surfaces.
• Environmental Sensors: Water quality sondes and dissolved oxygen sensors provide insights to key parameters like Temperature/Conductivity, pH/ORP, or Chlorophyll A.
• Extended tethers: With upgrades available up to 1 kilometer or more, extended tethers are optimal for longer range projects.

PHOTON

The PHOTON is a powerful blend of compact design and robust reliability. The small but mighty underwater survey sidekick. Built with the same Deep Trekker family standard of industrial-grade materials like carbon fiber and anodized aluminum, paired with magnetically coupled drives, stainless steel components, and acrylic lens cover ensure durability in the harshest conditions. Simply put, the PHOTON is the toughest micro ROV on the market.

With Deep Trekker’s BRIDGE technology to power it, the PHOTON offers users a lightweight option with advanced survey capabilities. The rotating enhanced 4K camera, six thruster design, and ability to expand with additional tools and sensors, such as sonar, DVL, and USBL make this an ideal option for a broad range of ROV inspection operations, including aquaculture, tank inspections, confined space inspections, underwater research, and much more.

"Deep Trekker, and all their support and sales staff, always immediately address our questions, issues, and any concerns. They immediately answer phone calls and immediately respond to email inquiries. They bend over backwards to assist with anything we have needed or ideas on training and troubleshooting. I would have to say that Deep Trekker has consistently provided the best customer support of literally any professional organization I have ever worked or communicated with in over 23 years of military service and 15 years of commercial diving experience." - Doug Noyes, Dive Project Manager / Dive Safety Manager at Peraton Inc.

PHOTON Expert Package

The PHOTON Expert package includes everything in the Base package, and it adds the grabber claw manipulator tool and more. With the grabber tool, operators can perform precise retrievals, sampling, and deploy tools efficiently, making it ideal for advanced inspections.

Upgrading to the Expert means you will receive the grabber claw add-on, skid, service kit, and a spare battery for quick swaps to maintain power on extended missions.

PHOTON SAR PACKAGE

Want a complete underwater SAR solution at a low cost? This package offers fire departments, police units, and search-and-rescue teams an affordable ROV solution with grabber and sonar capabilities for efficient underwater victim recovery and search operations.

The PHOTON SAR Package provides an affordable ROV solution for SAR missions, featuring state-of-the-art capabilities for effective underwater search and recovery operations.

DTG3

The DTG3 is the ultimate in ROV portability. For a cost effective alternative to the PIVOT or REVOLUTION, the DTG3 provides the same exceptional Full HD (4K upgradable) camera in a durable yet lightweight 18lbs vehicle. Coming expedition ready right out of the box, you can deploy in under 30 seconds. With operating battery life of up to eight hours, you can maintain operation for the whole work day.

The DTG3 comes equipped with three thrusters and a patented pitch system that allows for flexible operations and rapid descent capabilities. The DTG3’s 270 degree rotating camera offers a massive range of view for ship hulls, sea floors, and everything in between, without any need to maneuver thrusters.

The whole system fits into a single rugged Pelican case which can be taken as checked luggage during travel, making its portability unparalleled. At a price tag of $8,500USD, the DTG3 offers industrial quality accompanied by 5-star customer service at an aggressively competitive price.

“In the past 10 years, we’ve had 0 incidents, 0 accidents, 0 near-misses and it’s because we have a Deep Trekker ROV with us on every diving operation that we do.” - Dewald Venter, Operations Manager, Ven-Tech Subsea

DTG3 Package

The DTG3 package includes the intuitive BRIDGE integrated controller, 64GB SD Card, and an entire ROV system all out of a single case. This single case design allows you to take your commercial grade inspection system anywhere.

The DTG3 package comes standard with a 75m tether and tether reel. However, you can upgrade up to 200m on the included reel and can be increased up to 700m on a larger reel. The DTG3 also comes with three sets of LED floodlights to illuminate your focus point during complex or dark inspection scenarios.

Common DTG3 Addons

The most common add-ons for the DTG3 include:

• The Grabber: A grabber arm enables the DTG3 to carry out a variety of tasks such as retrieving objects, holding tools, or deploying equipment.
• Laser Scaler: Two lasers separated by one inch instantly offer a size estimation during visual inspections.
• USBL Positioning: The SeaTrac Ultra Short Baseline Locating system allows you to gain awareness of the relative position of your ROV, as well as set waypoints along your dive
• Thickness gauge: To evaluate the thickness of steel on tanks, hulls or other metal surfaces.
• Environmental Sensors: Water quality sondes and dissolved oxygen sensors provide insights to key parameters like Temperature/Conductivity, pH/ORP, or Chlorophyll A

Deep Trekker Universal Product Features

BRIDGE Technology

All packages include a splash proof handheld controller running BRIDGE software, with a 64 GB SD Card included. BRIDGE Technology consists of Deep Trekker’s custom hardware, software, and integration capabilities. It leverages the processing power of a multi-core processor to provide an intuitive graphical interface. It does this alongside an impressive integration of Oculus sonars, USBL positioning, and other advanced sensors for improved control.

BRIDGE enables capabilities such as sensor fusion, optimizing positioning sensors, and camera enhancements such as underwater image optimization, auto-stabilization, and zero latency. Zero latency allows for easy control without the lag seen on mobile device-operated drones.

Enhanced 4K UHD Camera

Capture finer details during inspections. The Enhanced 4K UHD Camera comes standard on PHOTON, PIVOT, and REVOLUTION ROVs, and is available as an upgrade for DTG3 models, offering superior clarity both at a distance and up close.

Navigate to targets and capture high-quality images for your inspections and surveys with performance that significantly surpasses traditional off-the-shelf high-definition cameras. Featuring a turbidity filter, auto white balance, digital zoom, and automatic image enhancement, BRIDGE's advanced image processing algorithms ensure optimal underwater imaging.

The 1080p camera included in the Base package of the DTG3 is a low-cost, off the shelf camera option used by many underwater drone and ROV manufacturers. It provides good quality imagery, but is limited in its focal range and effectiveness in turbid or dark environments.

The enhanced 4K camera delivers incredibly sharp videos to distinguish any fine details or irregularities during underwater inspections. The ultra wide lens on the 4K upgrade also allows for more content to fit on screen, and provides superior detail at shorter focal lengths. It also has a far greater range capability, allowing you to see detail further than with standard off the shelf 1080p cameras.

See a comparison between the 1080p and 4K here:

Intuitive Controller with Multi-Feed Display

Full integration with imaging sonars and positioning systems allow you to view your underwater sonar, map positioning, and video feed all on one easy-to-read screen. If you prefer to extend your displays to larger screens, you can quickly connect a laptop or monitor via HDMI from the controller.

Every package also includes the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensor package, which provides depth, heading, pitch, roll, turns count, and water temperature displays. The IMUs, pressure sensors, and magnetic compass combined with BRIDGE technology allow for stabilization features such as auto depth, auto heading, and active yaw stabilization. Active yaw stabilization helps the ROV pilot drive straight through the water to a target even through strong current.

BRIDGE Box and BRIDGE App

The BRIDGE Box enhances the flexibility of Deep Trekker ROV operations, enabling control and monitoring from virtually any location via the BRIDGE app on a Windows device. Supporting remote operation over the internet, it allows teams to manage missions from varied environments, including offices, field sites, or command trucks, with ease.

Want to use a gamepad-style controller? No problem. Want six monitors in a shipping container? You got it. Set up your dream office while using a flexible software platform that will grow with your needs.

BRIDGE Console

The Deep Trekker BRIDGE Console is a high-performance control station designed for precision in complex ROV operations, featuring an 18.5-inch HD capacitive touch panel that enhances the operator’s visual interface. Its IP65 rating ensures durability in industrial and marine settings, and the display can either mirror or extend across multiple screens, facilitating access to alternate views like sonar, telemetry, and positioning data.

With a modern graphical interface and embedded operating system, the BRIDGE Console seamlessly integrates with third-party tools, supporting organized, multi-source data visualization essential for effective, streamlined control in demanding environments.

ROV GPS

The ROV GPS system provides precise surface-based navigation for Deep Trekker’s REVOLUTION and PIVOT models, allowing real-time positional tracking without the need for a USBL system.

This GPS system continuously recalibrates in real time, maintaining stable position updates when the ROV surfaces. Paired with Deep Trekker’s dead reckoning, it ensures accurate tracking throughout missions.

With Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS) support, the system achieves positioning accuracy up to 2.5 cm. It’s compatible with major satellite constellations, including GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, and Galileo, for enhanced accuracy in surveys and inspections.

The ROV GPS system logs waypoints and tracks surface positions via Mission Planner, offering a full history of movements to aid post-mission analysis and refine underwater navigation strategies, particularly valuable in environments where USBL is impractical.

Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning provides an effective navigation solution in GPS-denied underwater environments, where satellite signals are inaccessible. By using inertial sensors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and advanced algorithms, Dead Reckoning allows Deep Trekker ROVs to maintain accurate positioning, guiding ROVs along predetermined routes without GPS or optics.

Integrated into Deep Trekker’s PIVOT and REVOLUTION models via an upgraded IMU, DVL sensor, and BRIDGE software, Dead Reckoning enables operators to initiate navigation with an initial position input, simplifying underwater inspections. By continuously updating positions based on course and speed changes, Dead Reckoning enhances spatial accuracy, particularly when combined with acoustic positioning systems, ensuring dependable navigation in complex underwater terrains.

The Deep Trekker Difference

Deep Trekker offers easy to use, portable and affordable underwater ROVs, capable of handling an incredibly diverse list of tasks. Along with the ROVs, experienced senior ROV team members are only an email or phone call away. When you buy an ROV from Deep Trekker, you buy the team, the ideas, the vision, and the support.

Our ROVs are designed by listening to our customers and reinventing to meet their needs. We are a group of innovators, creators, expert engineers, technologists and dreamers of the underwater world. Our team is committed to providing YOU with the best ROV to get the job done.

"Last time we looked there was not an ROV that competes at Deep Trekker's price point; considering size, function, features and customer service, two thumbs up!" - Bruce Gray, Operations Officer, Environment Canada.

As always, our team of industry professionals is here to answer any questions you may have about how submersible robots can aid in your next project. When you’re ready to get a vehicle of your own, reach out to get your customized quote.