Facilities
The Underwater Vehicle lab operates two advanced underwater vehicles, providing services to members of the Israeli deep sea scientific community from various disciplines such as Marine Biology, Geophysics and Marine Archaeology.
The deep water capable AUV and ROV are advanced tools, unique in the region in their capabilities to perform surveys, sample collection and other work at depths of up to 3000 meters.
The vehicles are operated upon request by researchers, often using the IOLR research vessel and the RV Bat-Galim as the operating platform.
Department Engineer
Ben Herzberg has been the department engineer since 2014. His main responsibilities are operation and maintenance of the department’s deep water
unmanned vehicles, as well as . general oversight of the facility and safety trustee.Ben holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and spent a few years working in the semiconductor industry prior to Joining the University of Haifa.
Underwater Vehicle Engineer
Samuel Cohen-Salmon is currently studying Mechanical Engineering. In the vehicle lab he maintains and operates the vehicles as well as adapts them for specific research missions.
He began sailing at the age of five and to this day spends as much time at sea as he can. Apart from work and family Samuel is a company leader as a reservist in the artillery corps, IDF.
THEMO (Texas A&M - University of Haifa Eastern Mediterranean Observatory)” is an observatory comprising of two sensor arrays attached to 2.25 m diameter surface buoys.
THEMO includes a shallow mooring (125 m) in the coastal zone of the Levant Basin of the Mediterranean Sea, and a deep mooring (1500 m) located 50 km from the northern shores of Haifa after the continental shelf. The two moorings have real time RF communication capabilities, and the data is received at a shore station.
Visit the official website of the Themo Buoy here.
Our saltwater pool is used to test underwater vehicles and other equipment prior to deployment at sea. A 2.5t crane reaches over the entire area of the pool. There is a tow carriage which bridges over the pool for deploying equipment and for other operations.
Width: 3 m
Length: 9 m
Depth: up to 2.8 m
The electronics and prototyping lab is used for 3D printing (prototypes and assembly support parts), electronic work (soldering, cabling and prototype testing) and small-scale machining.
Tools: Ultimaker S5 and Ultimaker 2+ 3D printers, soldering iron, power supply, signal generator, drill press, dremel.
Build volume: 330 x 240 x 300 mm
Assembled dimensions: 495 x 585 x 780 mm
Print technology: Fused filament fabrication (FFF)
Build volume: 223 x 223 x 305 mm
Assembled dimensions: 342 x 493 x 588 mm
Print technology: Fused filament fabrication (FFF)
The Machine shop is used by the department team to manufacture small parts. We have a small CNC milling machine and a manual lathe.
Working range: 730 * 230 * 450 mm
Spindle: 3200 rpm
1.5 hp fluid coolant
Working diameter: up to 360 mm
Working length: 1000 mm
Speed range: 35 to 2000rpm
Maximum tool size: 16 x 16 mm standard and custom metric and inches threads
Motor power 2 hp with DRO fluid coolant supports
