System and method for remote inspection of liquid filled structures

Abstract

A system and method for remote inspection of a liquid filled tank or structure is disclosed. In the system, a remotely operated underwater vehicle is deployed in a liquid filled tank which includes pre-installed location identifier tags. The remotely operated underwater vehicle includes at least one camera for providing a video feed to an operator. The remotely operated underwater vehicle is piloted through tanks to be inspected, scanning tags and transmitting video and sensor data to the operator via operator's computer. The operator inspects and records observations of the video and sensor data to the system. Resulting data is recorded and reports generated.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for inspecting a liquid filled structure, comprising:
 at least one submersible identification tag fixed to a fixture within the liquid filled structure;   a remotely-operated underwater vehicle (ROV), the ROV including:
 a video camera mounted on the ROV; 
 a transmitter for transmitting video image data from the ROV; and 
   an operator terminal including display screen, the operator terminal in operable communication with the ROV.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the ROV further comprises at least one additional sensor. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one additional sensor is one of a ultrasonic thickness gauge, cathodic potential gauge, magnetic particle testing, radiographic testing method, ultrasonic shearwave testing method, video location device, salinometer, 3-D laser scanner, long base line positioning sensor, ultra short baseline positioning sensor, and scanning sonar positioning sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operator terminal is a portable computer. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operator terminal is a tablet computer. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the ROV further comprises a still camera. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the submersible identification tag is a bar code sign. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the bar code sign is a two dimensional bar code sign. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the submersible identification tag is a radio-frequency RFID 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the ROV further comprises a tag reader capable of reading the at least one submersible identification tags. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the operator terminal further comprises a tag reader capable of reading the at least one submersible identification tags. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a wireless data connection between the ROV and the operator terminal. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a hard data connection between the ROV and the operator terminal. 
     
     
         14 . A method for inspecting a liquid filled structure, comprising the steps of:
 deploying a remotely-operated underwater vehicle (“ROV”) in the liquid filled structure;   generating a video signal via a video camera mounted on the ROV;   piloting the ROV through locations within the liquid-filled structure;   reading at least one submersed identification tag fixed within the liquid filled structure to provide an identification code;   correlating the identification code with a location within the structure;   displaying video from the video signal on an operator terminal; and   inspecting at least one fixture within the liquid-filled structure displayed on the operator terminal and determining a rating for the fixture.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising generating a report including the identification code and inspection results for the at least one fixture. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising maintaining records of inspecting at the at least one fixture. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid-filled structure is a ballast tank of a double-hull vessel. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid-filled structure is liquid storage tank. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid-filled structure is a cargo hold. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the liquid-filled structure is liquid transport pipe.