Remote control diver in deep

An underwater robot, recently purchased by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, is expected to make the job of rescue divers much easier.

The orange, rectangular robot, called a Triggerfish ROV (ROV stands for remote-operated vehicle), is equipped with a high-resolution zoom camera, live video and “arms” to grasp or cut things such as rope or wire.

The Sheriff’s Department bought the robot two months ago for $80,000 from Deep Ocean Engineering, a Northern California company.

Deputy Larry Packard and three other dive team members have been trained to use the equipment.

A sonar, purchased separately for $10,000, works with the underwater robot, which is operated by remote control.

Packard used the remote control to maneuver the robot on the water Thursday at Harbor Patrol headquarters, and said it was like changing from a Model-T to a Ferrari.

The robot will be used at the county’s three Sheriff’s Department stations — in Newport Beach, Dana Point and Huntington Beach.

Capt. Deana J. Bergquist said the Sheriff’s Department decided to buy the machine after a small plane crashed into the ocean off Dana Point last November. The bodies of four men were recovered four days after the crash.

Bergquist said the Cessna was under 210 feet of water, too deep for divers to reach.

If the dive team had a machine like the Triggerfish when the crash occurred, it would have taken less time to find out if there were people inside the plane, she said.

The machine can dive 500 feet, compared with the 100 feet divers are able to descend.

The camera lens of the robot “can see better than the naked eye,” Bergquist said.

Images of the robot’s surroundings can be seen on a monitor and a sonar computer screen.

Along with helping divers locate, video tape and retrieve underwater objects, the machine also helps divers avoid dangerous waters.

“The biggest thing for me is keeping the divers safe from bio-hazardous water and heavy currents,” Bergquist said.

With the robot searching the ocean floor, divers don’t have to dive into waters that may have broken glass or pollutants, Packard said.

The machine is the size of a large piece of luggage, and is strong enough to pull up a person who weighs as much as 200 pounds.

“The machine brings the body closer to the divers searching,” said Packard, who works in Dana Point.

The robot can also be used to search for explosive devices such as the ammunition located in August near the Newport Beach pier, Bergquist said.

What does the new underwater robot replace for divers like Packard?

For Packard, the robot replaces a wet suit, fins, a mask, a snorkel, scuba equipment, a 7-foot tripod sonar and a “drop down-camera.”

“It was a pain,” Bergquist said.

Joe Itchon, president of Deep Ocean Engineering, said the FBI in Los Angeles County bought a larger version of the Triggerfish. Other law enforcement agencies in Washington and New Jersey have bought similar robots, Itchon said.