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Session Type	Keynote	Panel Discussion	Classroom Seminar	Afternoon Workshop	Full-Day Workshop
Session Category	Law Enforcement	Security	Offshore	Tank Inspection	Research	General	Positioning
Session Day	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
Display	Category	Presenter	Description	Time	Room

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The program information provided below is subject to change.

VideoRay Keynote (Keynote)
Scott Bentley - President - VideoRay

Monday 8:45 - 9:45
Location: Palm Court / Majestic

Remote Search and Investigation Techniques as Part of an Integrated Strategy (Classroom Seminar)
Jeff Snyder - President - SeaVision Underwater Solutions, Inc.
Separate remote underwater technologies can be applied and integrated into a cohesive strategy for an underwater investigation. As a case study, we will look at abandoned, sunken automobiles in the waters of the Seekonk River (RI). We will describe our use of sidescan sonar, advance to the use of multibeam bathymetric sonar, and finish with the deployment of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to investigate the target. Our emphasis will be the demonstration of a simple but effective work flow that can culminate in the deployment of divers to perform actual intervention or detailed inspection.
Monday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 1A

Starting and Developing a MicroROV Operating and Consulting Business (Classroom Seminar)
Steve Van Meter - Owner - Van Meter Consulting
With over 500 missions around the world, SVM Consulting is the most successful business of its kind. In this presentation, Steve will discuss the business aspects of starting this new business, from his experiences and hard-earned lessons. He will discuss business cards, contracts, contacts, pricing, marketing, sales, and important things to do, avoid, and keep in mind. Important lessons will be illustrated with examples and case studies, and Steve will answer questions and give invaluable advice afterwards (or at any time he’s available during the conference.)
Monday 9:00 - 9:45
Location: Majestic 1B

Top Ten Tips from the VideoRay Knowledgebase (Classroom Seminar)
Brett Kolb - Technical Service Manager - VideoRay LLC
VideoRay’s "rovinfo.com" user bulletin board is a popular place for VideoRay users to ask and answer questions on unique and challenging tasks they’ve done with their VideoRays, or to show off new and different accessories. The VideoRay staff works on this bulletin board constantly, and this presentation will demonstrate the most valuable tips and tricks that have been contributed to date.
Monday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 2

Micro ROV's - Not Just a Flying Eyeball, but an Intervention and Recovery Tool (Classroom Seminar)
Craig Thorngren - President - Submerged Recovery and Inspection Services
Craig Thorngren retired from the US Coast Guard as a Chief Petty Officer, after 20 years of service. For several years, he was in charge of the Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle Team at the first MSST (91101) in Seattle Washington. After a brief stint with BlueView Technologies, Craig has formed his own underwater consulting and operations company, Submerged Recovery and Inspection Services. This presentation will discuss the techniques and outcomes of variety of missions that involved recovering lost items, including a Shotgun Recovery, retrieving ancient shark’s teeth, a Cerebus Sonar Shackle Recovery in Australia, and other interesting projects from the files of Submerged Recovery and Inspection Services.
Monday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1A

New User Classroom Session (Part I, followed by hands on workshop) (Classroom Seminar)
Rachael Miller - Owner - Shipwrecktour.com
New User Part 1: Classroom Session: During this session we will cover ROV system parts, power requirements, how to properly set up and configure ROV and ICB, pre-dive checks, roles of ROV dive team and discuss tether options. We will also cover safety concerns and protocol, capabilities and limitations of the various Video Ray systems, very basic maintenance, and troubleshooting. Finally, we will discuss recommended components and procedures for image capture, tips on control, and details about the VideoRay Training and Certification Program.
Monday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1B

Positioning Systems panel – Understanding Available Technology and How It Can Work For You (Panel Discussion)

Every newcomer to ROVing knows the discomfort – or terror – of not having a clue where your ROV is – or your tether for that matter. This generally happens early in a mission for the novice, but even an experienced operator cannot tell where he is when moved by currents or tether drag in low visibility water, unless there is a clear reference within your field of vision. Positioning systems help you conduct a thorough, comprehensive search, or locate a known position on the bottom. They are indispensible for many missions in many conditions, but are probably the least understood technology among microROV users. This panel will go through several common scenarios where positioning systems would be used with VideoRays. For each mission, the moderator and experts from each manufacturer will discuss which technologies will work, which will not, and how they should be deployed.
Tuesday 9:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 1A

Best Practices for Using Your VideoRay and Accessories for Port Security (Classroom Seminar)
Craig Thorngren - USCG Chief, Retired - Submerged Recovery & Inspection Services
Everyone knows microROVs like VideoRay play a critical role in enhancing port security while minimizing the risk to divers and other first responders. This presentation will review the latest technology that can be used along with VideoRays in order to get the best results, in the shortest period of time, with the lowest expenditure in personnel and equipment costs. The presenter is one of the world’s foremost experts on the use of technology, and its role, in thwarting terrorists while ensuring the safety of those who work in ports and those who rely on products shipped through them. He will also discuss methods of detecting and apprehending smugglers or smuggled goods secured to ship hulls. The discussion will focus on proven tactics and procedures that you can implement at your home unit.
Tuesday 9:00 - 9:45
Location: Majestic 1B

VideoRay’s Role in Planning and Monitoring Salvage Operations at Titan (Classroom Seminar)
Phil Reed - General Manager, Salvage and Engineering - Titan Salvage, A Crowley Company
The engineering work at a successful premier marine salvage company like Titan starts with years of experience and detailed understanding of maritime architecture and salvage techniques, as well as access to specialized equipment and experienced crews. An additional – and critical – aspect is information on the wreck – its condition, its contents, and the conditions of the surrounding seabed. VideoRay has been a very important tool in gathering this information, and also in monitoring salvage operations. The high degree of portability, mobility underwater, and powerful, effective sonar and survey tools allow Titan to get the information it needs to bid jobs accurately – and profitably – within very short timeframes allotted on many jobs. Getting better information than competitors who use larger ROVs, divers, or guesswork has repeatedly translated to large savings –or helped Titan avoid potentially disastrous losses. This presentation will discuss several jobs on which Titan used VideoRay – as well as a few from years ago where we wished we could have! Also discussed will be techniques and tactics for underwater observation and surveys in challenging conditions.
Tuesday 9:00 - 9:45
Location: Majestic 2

Megalodon Tooth Recovery (Classroom Seminar)
Jim Batey - Owner - Marine Transport & Survey, Wilmington, NC
The mighty Megalodon, the largest carnivorous shark to ever prowl the seas, was over 60 feet in length. This precursor to the modern Great White shark lived in the Miocene epoch 5 to 24 million years ago. Some of the larger teeth fetch prices to $5000 and more! This presentation will show how Megalodon teeth can be recovered in the Atlantic with a VideoRay. Jim will review the process or investigating different ROVs, developing special techniques, and the tools that have proven invaluable in this process.
Tuesday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 1B

Deep Water Small ROVs - Lessons Learned (Classroom Seminar)
Evan Kovaks - Owner - EK Productions

Tuesday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 2

Assisting and Observing Recovery of Sunken Tugboat in Middle East (Classroom Seminar)
Tom Wadsworth

Tuesday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1A

Shipwrecks - history and technology coming together. (Classroom Seminar)
Rachael Miller - Owner - Shipwrecktours.com
Challenges, solutions (and some cool stories) from surveying the underwater preserves of Lake Champlain (Vermont) and Lake George (New York) Lake Champlain and Lake George feature some of North America's only underwater preserve sites. These wrecks range form America's oldest intact warship to a horse-powered ferry, coal barges, canal schooners and more. Shipwrecktour.com has been connecting the public to these wrecks through VideoRay supported shipwreck tours, until now, to just a few sites. This year, they completed a project to explore and film all the wrecks in the 2 preserves to establish a new baseline and contribute to current data on the state of the wrecks, presence of introduced species (zebra mussels), fish habitat and silting rate. Through this project they encountered challenges: low light, current, obstacles, fragile wrecks and more. This presentation will take you through these wrecks, their stories and features and define the challenges as well as their solutions.
Tuesday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1B

Lessons Learned - Diving Below 100 ft. with a VideoRay Scout (Classroom Seminar)
Mark Walker - Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad
The Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad (KVERS), Inc. is responsible for the primary rescue services to the citizens of Knox County, Tennessee. The Water Rescue Specialty Team provides a nucleus of highly-trained personnel to mitigate situations involving water related search, rescue and recovery without risking life or injury. The presentation will show how KVERS has used their inexpensive VideoRay to recover drowning victims in depths that most would not thing possible, with a case study to illustrate how this can be done.
Tuesday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 2

Sonar Panel – Underwater Vision, Navigation, and Measurement Through Murky Water (Panel Discussion)

One of the most useful tools in many VideoRay user’s toolkits is their sonar, which they mount in most cases when the visibility of the water is restricted. But sonars come in different sizes, price tags, and with different capabilities. New technologies have been released in just the last few months which extend refresh rates, resolution, and range over last year’s models. And each model and manufacturer have areas where their units are uniquely well qualified, and other scenarios where the same sonar is severely challenged.
Wednesday 9:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 1A

Using VideoRays with Sonar to Assist in Indian Coal Mine Stabilization (Classroom Seminar)
Steve Van Meter - Owner - Van Meter Consulting
In June, 2007, VideoRay received a request from Dr. Samir K Pal of the Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. He was searching for technology to help in fill in abandoned, flooded coal mines before they collapsed, with devastating results. Among the challenges he faced in determining the actual layout and status of the mines was access and subsurface maneuverability inside the mines. Six inch boreholes to the subsurface mines were fairly easy, 12 inch boreholes were doable but expensive, and anything larger was impossible. Obviously, human diving was not an option. For over a year, VideoRay experts worked on a solution involving the VideoRay Pro 3 and the Tritech SeaSprite sonar. The VideoRay Pro 3 was the only vehicle capable of entering the mines through a 12 inch borehole, and the tiny, but extremely accurate SeaSprite sonar the best tool to measure cavities in the restricted visibility of the murky and polluted water. This presentation will discuss the beginning of the technical discussions, through prototype testing in the US, to the very successful proof of concept in India in September, 2008 by the authors who conducted the field operations in India.
Wednesday 9:00 - 9:45
Location: Majestic 1B

Discovering Underwater Smuggling Attempts In Jamaica (Classroom Seminar)
Kirk Diaz & Oneil Walters - Security Administrators Limited
One of the world’s most experienced – and effective – ROV teams for Maritime Security works every day in the extremely busy container port in Kingston, Jamaica. Since 2002 they have examined over 1000 vessels, and have discovered drugs on 14 of them. The use of VideoRay allows thorough searches of vessels to occur rapidly, safely, and cost effectively. This presentation will show how the ROV team has evolved, and the techniques used both by smugglers to conceal drug canisters, and the ROV team to find them. The presenters will use of both video and still photos to illustrate their procedures so the audience can learn how to they can begin to conduct these searches in their home ports, and help combat illegal drug smuggling. They will emphasize how these procedures can be implemented in a way that meshes with other port security procedures without unduly effecting port efficiency.
Wednesday 9:00 - 9:45
Location: Majestic 2

What to Do When Everything Goes Wrong (Classroom Seminar)
Tom Crossmon - Owner - Crossmon Consulting
There are far more aspects of a mission – particularly one to find a lost object or missing person – that can go wrong than can go right. Many of the presentations at VIPS talk about preventing things from going wrong with proper preparation and planning. This session will look at what to do when everything goes wrong. How do you fix things out of your control, and save the mission? How can you be prepared for the worse possible scenario and make it work for you, or when should you abort the mission and try another day. The author has extensive experience with things going wrong, and experience you can learn from.
Wednesday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 1B

Lessons Learned from Seven Years of MicroROV Water Tank Inspection (Classroom Seminar)
John Conrady - Utility Service Company, Inc.
John and Linda Conrady’s tank inspection business was so successful that it was purchased recently by Utility Service Company, Incorporated – the largest provider of full service tank management maintenance programs. They started with a slightly larger ROV from a California company, but recently upgraded to VideoRay Pro 4s. John has been a pioneer in the tank inspection business, and this presentation will show how to inspect a variety of ground and elevated potable water tanks with remotely operated vehicles, as well as the most important things to watch out for when conducting an inspection.
Wednesday 10:00 - 10:45
Location: Majestic 2

Inventory of Artificial Reefs and Monitoring of Associated Fish Species in the Eastern Waters of Puerto Rico (Classroom Seminar)
Jose Caballero - Marine Cargo & Salvage Co.
Approximately Ten years ago the Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources deployed prefabricated concrete habitats in the eastern waters of the Island. These are sitting in 50 - 100 foot depth. These artificial reef structures provide fish shelters in order to attract local fish species and relief the stressed overfished local reefs. We used our VideoRay PRO 3 GTO in this project to provide assessment of fish species, night/day species census, and most important, thanks to the ROV in use, we have located over 10 unknown wrecks that provide the same habitat conditions.
Wednesday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1A

VideoRay Cockpit - Strap Yourself In! (Classroom Seminar)
Tom Glebas - Vice President - VideoRay LLC
The Pro 3 has always enjoyed a rich selection of off-the-shelf commercial accessories, but is not without its limitations. The Pro 4 COMPLETELY changes the game! In this hands-on session you'll be introduced to PAMULA, a revolutionary device that works with the new Pro 4 protocol to support exciting new capabilities, including multiplexing (break the single spare pair barrier) and better user interface integration and device control, and will lead to ideas you never dreamed possible with your VideoRay. Several examples will be shown and attendees are encouraged to bring their wish list. You will be amazed at the possibilities and how the new Pro 4 architecture makes developing your own professional level accessories eminently more doable.
Wednesday 11:15 - 12:00
Location: Majestic 1B

Working in Currents (Afternoon Workshop)
Steve Van Meter - Owner - Van Meter Consulting
Using a VideoRay in clear water is easy. Using one in murky water can be made fairly easy with the right sonar or positioning system. However, maneuvering to where you want – or need – to be when there is a wall of fast-moving water pushing against you can be very difficult. There is no one technique or answer to overcoming the challenges of currents; often the mission can be accomplished only with a variety of tactics, and some trial and error on the job site. This workshop will encompass a tutorial on the basics of having the current work FOR you whenever possible, different deployment, anchoring, and towing techniques, and how to use tidal currents and differential currents at different water depths to your advantage.
Monday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pier

New User (Part II) (Afternoon Workshop)
Rachael Miller - Owner - Shipwrecktours.com
The classroom section of the New User Tutorial will review all of the important pre-dive checks, and what each of the buttons, knobs, switches and such do. Now it’s time to get in the water and experience the fun of “stick time” with a VideoRay. During this session users will get a change to drive a VideoRay in the comparatively easy environment of a swimming pool, with clear water and minimal depth or current issues. During the session attendees will get a feeling for how a VideoRay reacts to control inputs, and the interaction of thruster, camera, and other controls. This is a critical step which should always be mastered before attempting to use a VideoRay in more realistic environments, where the consequences and challenges of recovering from a stuck tether or accidental thrust reversal can be more serious.
Monday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pool

Accessories : From Duct Tape and Coat Hangers to Multiplexing Multi-action Manipulators and Beyond (Afternoon Workshop)
Andy Goldstein - Director of Software Development - VideoRay
Since the first Pro II VideoRays were shipped in 2002, different accessories have been designed to fit on a VideoRay. Some are complex and expensive, while others are simple. Learn to use cathodic protection probes, radiation detectors, altimeters, metal thickness gauges, and other tools you might have heard about but never seen or used. Also, learn how a manipulator can be turned into a water sampling device, and the many uses of a coat hanger as an improvised retrieval device or a seat belt cutter for slicing through ropes and lines.
Monday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 2

Positioning System Hands On (Afternoon Workshop)
Positioning System Manufacturers - - KCF Technologies, Tritech International, Desert Star Systems
Following the panel discussion of available solutions for positioning systems, each manufacturer will be invited to demonstrate his products in a real-world environment near the symposium. Attendees will be able to see various solutions in action, and compare their performance and results. In addition, experts from each manufacturer will be available to answer questions and discuss specific challenges that each attendee needs to face at home. Many previous VIPS attendees have found that relationships with top executives or technicians from each company, made at VIPS, have been crucial to their success as users of positioning projects.
Tuesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pier

Tips For Operating In Remote Locations (Afternoon Workshop)
Jeffrey Snyder, Steve Van Meter - SeaVision Marine Services LLC, Van Meter Consulting
Most experienced VideoRay users have learned from experience the high cost of bringing their VideoRays to remote locations without adequate thought and preparation. A power source and a few spare parts are obvious – but did you think of a temporary table, sun tan lotion, and bug spray? What do you do if the primary power source fails – or your tether is cut? What do you do if you left your laptop power supply at home. Can you really do a survey with only one horizontal thruster? Sometimes the phone number – and schedule – of the nearest acquaintance with VideoRay equipment and expertise is the most important information you can have. While the presenters cannot release all of their secrets, they’ll talk about lessons they learned the hard way – and how they almost always get the job done. Participants will be given several scenarios and asked to improvise solutions as a team.
Tuesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pool

Video Production (Afternoon Workshop)
Evan Kovacs - Owner - EK Productions
Whether you need to just capture a few stills from the VideoRay’s camera, or piece together a documentary with video from both the VideoRay and surface cameras, it helps to understand both technology and techniques behind video staging, production, capture, and editing.
Tuesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 2

Sonar System Hands On (Afternoon Workshop)
Sonar System Manufacturers - BlueView Technologies, Tritech Limited
Sonar systems are fairly easy to describe, and each have a long list of specifications. At the Sonar Panel, each vendor’s representative will discuss his products and when they should be used. However, there is no substitute for real-world experience. Questions such as “what is more important in a multi-beam sonar – resolution, range, vertical field of view, refresh rate, or horizontal field of view?” can seem pretty daunting in a classroom, but be clearer when you use each vendor’s products in a real-world environment – and compare the results. When you use each product for a similar mission – while asking the experts for advice on controls and deployment – the best solutions for your missions and budget will become clearer.
Wednesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pier

Operating In Confined Spaces (Afternoon Workshop)
Jeffrey Snyder, Steve Van Meter - SeaVision Marine Services LLC, Van Meter Consulting
Many of the most interesting – and lucrative – VideoRay missions involve going where no human or other ROV could enter. This might be a flooded mine in India, a hydroelectric dam in Norway, an intake for a Caribbean oil refinery, or a pipeline at a power plant in New Mexico. Working in these restricted environments poses unique challenges, and involve the use of tools that you might not think of for confined spaces. For example, the small SeaSprite scanning sonar has produced excellent cavity measurements from footings for a Norwegian Opera House, to Cisterns in Malta.
Wednesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Pool

Retrieval Techniques (Afternoon Workshop)
Tom Crossmon, Craig Thorngren

Wednesday 13:00 - 16:00
Location: Marina

Port Security Full Day Workshop (Full-Day Workshop)
Craig Thorngren - USCG (Ret) - Submerged Recovery & Inspection Services
Spend the entire day immersed in the latest technology and techniques involved with this important issue. You will be working with experienced professionals with similar goals in a port environment in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area. Learn about total system solutions that include the all new VideoRay Pro 4 ROV, multibeam imaging sonar, non-acoustic positioning systems, ShipHull crawler attachments, and real time video enhancement. Low visibility, high current, obstacle avoidance, ship hull and structure inspection, location and recovery are some of the techniques and issues that will be addressed as they encompass the majority of today's port environments.
Thursday 9:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 1A

Tank Inspection Full Day Workshop (Full-Day Workshop)
John Conrady - Utility Service Company, Inc.
John and Linda Conrady’s tank inspection business was so successful that it was purchased recently by Utility Service Company, Incorporated – the largest provider of full service tank management maintenance programs. They started with a slightly larger ROV from a California company, but recently upgraded to VideoRay Pro 4s. John has been a pioneer in the tank inspection business, and this full day workshop will show how to inspect potable water tanks with remotely operated vehicles, as well as the most important things to watch out for when conducting an inspection. You will be working in an actual tank in the workshop - transportation to and from the site, as well as lunch, is provided.
Thursday 9:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 1B

Using Positioning Systems to Conduct ROV Search and Recovery Operations (Full-Day Workshop)
Mark Feulner - Underwater Crime Scene Investigation, Florida State University-Panama City
This full day class will acquaint the attendee with the variety of positioning systems available for use with the VideoRay, and how those tools may be used to assist in underwater search and recovery efforts. Attendees will learn the procedures that will provide for a more effective search, and will have the opportunity to practice the techniques presented in the class. Emphasis will be given to teaching attendees how to continue self-training in search skills to improve their capabilities.
Thursday 9:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 2

Advanced Maintenance Course - 2 Day Class (Full-Day Workshop)
Brett Kolb - Technical Service Manager - VideoRay LLC
This course is an advanced course and is designed for technician level personnel to be able to diagnose, disassemble, repair and reassemble VideoRay ROVs and Control Panels
Thursday 9:00 - 16:00
Location: Majestic 3A