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18

Mar 2023

Last Updated: 17/03/2023
Community
Community

Underwater drone explorer aims to turn hobby into business

by John Grainger

| 18 Mar, 2023
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underwaterdrones-pike
Screengrab from one of underwater drone enthusiast Adam Makewell's livestreams of a large pike he's named Gary.

A Ripon man with a passion for underwater drones is hoping to turn his hobby into an income stream. 

Adam Makewell takes out with his waterproof ROVs (remote operated vehicles) on weekend dives with his son Cameron, 12, in Ripon Canal and the River Ure.

He says the technology has commercial potential he could explore:

“These ROVs are actually quite advanced pieces of kit – they can go down as deep as 100 metres – and could be very useful for all sorts of purposes.
I've already used them for mapping the river-bed with sonar, but they could be used for underwater archaeology, to monitor water quality, habitat health and reservoir walls, to check outer nets on fish farms, or inspect boats’ hulls below the waterline.
Putting in a qualified diver takes quite a bit of money; I could provide a quicker, cheaper option. If I could get enough work and make it pay, there’s nothing I’d rather do.” 


Picture of underwater drone enthusiast Adam Makewell on a riverbank in Ripon.

Adam Makewell on the riverbank with one of his ROVs.



In the meantime, Adam is continuing to explore more stretches of the River Ure with son Cameron, spurred on by the thought of what they may find. He said:

"I’ve already found all sorts down there – car keys, sunglasses, even some solar panels that had been blown off a barge in the marina.
And the wildlife is crazy – there's so much more to see than you’d ever imagine when you look at a body of water: grayling, trout, roach, chub, crayfish and freshwater shrimp. There are a couple of large perch we’ve named Tom and Jerry, and a big pike we’ve called Gary! 
"We’ve also used the drone with a grabber to clear rubbish from the canal – so far we’ve removed over 50 bottles just from one stretch of the Ripon canal and three bin bags of cans and other rubbish."


Photo of one of Adam Makewell's underwater drones with some of the bottles he's removed from the riverbed in Ripon.

One of Adam Makewell's underwater drones with some of the bottles he's removed from the riverbed in Ripon.



He added: 

“This started as a hobby during lockdown, but it’s becoming almost an obsession. Rather than sitting in the house wishing, I prefer to get out there and do it. If I can turn it into a job, I’ll never ‘work’ again.”


Screengrab of one of Adam Makewell's drones with its light on, searching below the water's surface.

The underwater drones are tethered and have a maximum range of 100m.