Development of a compact underwater stereoscopic video camera

This paper describes the development of a compact underwater stereoscopic video camera. The camera was specifically developed for use on Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) which are operated extensively in the offshore oil and gas industry. The camera has been used at the oil and gas fields operated by Woodside Offshore Petroleum off the northwest coast of Western Australia. The camera is 11 cm in diameter, 24 cm long and weighs just under four kilograms. The camera housing contains a pair of miniature video cameras and an internal 3D multiplexer which generates the single video output signal (in the field-sequential 3D video format). Since the camera outputs a single video signal (although in 3D), it can be easily interfaced with an underwater ROV's existing video system. The 3D video signal is transmitted to the surface by a single video channel where it is viewed on a stereoscopic display installed in the ship-based control room. The camera provides several improvements over the first underwater stereoscopic video camera developed by the Centre in 1991. One of the notable improvements is the camera's reduced size, which offers a number of operational benefits. The optics of the camera have also been improved by using parallel camera axes to eliminate keystone distortion and depth plane curvature.