Abstract:
Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are robots controlled by an operator
on the surface. These robots are tethered enclosing a set of wires that provide the
communication link between the ROV and the operator and provide power for its
operation. There is no other practical, safe, and economically feasible way to perform
deep underwater work or underwater intervention, as it is called in the industry.
Underwater ROVs are useful because they can accomplish tasks that are dangerous,
uncomfortable, or tedious for humans to perform. Some laborious tasks, such as research
in commercial, military, and scientific fields under sea for surveying and collecting
visual acoustic images, are better accomplished by ROVs. By removing the human
presence, and giving the vehicles a degree of autonomy, the effectiveness of the ROVs
can be greatly increased. One measure of advantage is cost effectiveness. An ROV that
can do twice the work of a human diver is difficult to sell to end-users, if the total cost
of the operation is ten times that of a diver. In our project, we present model-based
analysis and synthesis applied to the dynamics, guidance, and control of an underwater
ROV. The vehicle dynamics is one of the most important concerns in designing and
developing an ROV, while the guidance and control are the key issues in achieving the
desired vehicle performance. As far as we are aware there is no such underwater ROV
designs developed in Sri Lanka. In this project we intend to study the design and
development of the ROV. This designed underwater ROV travels balanced and
smoothly more than 10m depth and to visualize the undersea environment.The total cost
of the developed ROV was approximately LKR 60,000 (US$ 500). The intended
application is coral reef observation.
