iXBlue Rovins
Inertial Navigation System for Subsea Vehicles
Description
The iXBlue Rovins is a survey-grade inertial navigation system (INS) for subsea vehicles, rated to 3000 m water depth. It combines 3D positioning with heading, roll, pitch and heave in one unit, based on fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG) strapdown technology with no spinning elements. Stated applications are ROV/AUV positioning, multibeam sonar motion reference and subsea construction.
With DVL aiding, the Rovins position accuracy is 0.2 % of travelled distance, and with USBL/LBL aiding it is stated as three times better than the USBL/LBL accuracy (CEP 50 %). Without aiding, the position accuracy is 1.5 m after 1 min and 6 m after 2 min. Heading accuracy is 0.05 deg secant latitude with GPS, USBL, LBL or DVL aiding, roll and pitch accuracy is 0.01 deg (RMS), and heave accuracy (Smart Heave™) is 2.5 cm or 2.5 % (whichever is greater). The rotation rate dynamic range is up to 750 deg/s and the acceleration dynamic range is ±15 g.
Rovins accepts aiding from DVL, USBL, LBL, RAMSES, GPS and depth sensors, and supports GPS, USBL, RAMSES, LBL, DVL, depth and CTD/SVP sensors. A DVL Ready option and a RAMSES synthetic baseline positioning system option are available, and the unit is OCTANS footprint compatible. Interfaces are RS232/RS422 serial ports (5 inputs, 5 outputs, 1 configuration port), Ethernet (UDP, TCP client, TCP server), pulse ports (3 inputs, 2 outputs) and NMEA0183, ASCII and BINARY formats at 600 baud to 115.2 kbaud, with a data output rate of 0.1 Hz to 200 Hz.
The Rovins housing is titanium, the power supply is 24 VDC and power consumption is < 20 W, with an operating temperature of −20 to 55 °C. The 3000 m version weighs 15/6.2 kg (air/water) and measures 213 × 375 mm (Ø × h). The 3000 m «DVL Ready» version weighs 32.6/16.3 kg (WHN300K3, WHN600K3) or 29.2/13.6 kg (WHN1200K3) and measures 225/298 × 629 mm (Ø × h).