Kitchener, Ontario, Canada-based Deep Trekker, which produces submersible remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) serving multiple industries, is celebrating 10 years in business in 2020.
The company produces ROVs with applications in a number of industries, including ocean science, shipping, and aquaculture. According to a release, the company started as a small startup working out of a garage and has progressed to a global business serving industry across the globe.
The origins of Deep Trekker are relatively simple, according to Deep Trekker President Sam Macdonald.
“Deep Trekker was inspired by an incident in Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada,” Macdonald said. “I dropped my flashlight into the water one night and I thought that it would be perfect if I had a robot that could go in and get it for me.”
That began the development of the company’s first prototype, which Macdonald created with the help of her business partners Jeff Lotz. Once it was created, the pair realized that the product might have wider applications in industries that need eyes underwater.
Deep Trekker’s ROVS are used in the aquaculture industry for underwater inspections and site monitoring, allowing companies to get eyes in the water without having to send in a diver. The ROVs, which can be small enough to fit in a backpack, can perform net inspections, mooring inspections, mortality removal, and feeding assessments.
In addition to the company’s Ontario headquarters, it has also established an office in Puerto Montt, Chile, and has dealers in countries around the world.
“Often if we can’t see it, we pay no mind to it – our robotics are designed to go places that aren’t normally seen,” Macdonald said. “There is a tremendous amount of underwater infrastructure, operations, biology, and ecology that people don’t always know about. We want to create tools that help uncover our underwater world.”
Photo courtesy of Deep Trekker
