CHESAPEAKE, Va — The ROV, also referred to as an underwater drone, was purchased by the Chesapeake Fire Department in late 2021 for $86,000, using split funds from the city and the federal government.
“Within the last year, we’ve had it out six to eight times," said Lt. William Helms with the department. "Towards the end of the year, it started to get compressed with how often it was going out."
Virginia Beach
What we know about the body, vehicle found after car drove off VB Fishing Pier
The ROV was used this week to help find the car that drove of the Virginia Beach pier this weekend. Since a lot of the water around here is tough to see through, the drone uses sonar to determine where the object is, then a camera when it gets close enough.
The Virginia Beach Police Department released footage captured by the ROV earlier this week:
Lieutenant William Helms says it's harder to use the ROV in moving water like an ocean as opposed to a body of water like a lake.
"If it’s moving around then it bounces into the robot, and it just makes it more challenging in that regard,” he told News 3.
Any agency can use the drone, but only Chesapeake Fire Department is trained in this specific ROV.
