DEVELOPMENT OF CONTROL SYSTEM FOR AN UNDERWATER ROV (REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE) FOR SURVEYING THE UNDERWATER PORTION OF THE SHIP HULL

Abstract

Underwater robotics is a rapidly growing field with applications in various industries such as oil and gas, marine biology, commercial activities like underwater inspection, and military etc. The hardware portion of underwater robotics is crucial for the successful operation of the robots in the harsh underwater environment. There are several types of control systems commonly used in underwater robotics such as Manual Control, Autonomous Control, Tele operation Control, Hybrid Control, Closed-Loop Control .In this project we are using manual control system includes following components: Control Station, Communication System, Sensors, Propulsion Systems, Power Management, PID control algorithm. The main aim of this thesis is to develop a cost-effective, efficient, and reliable control system for underwater robotics which would be able to maneuver the vehicle in six DOF with great ease. For this purpose we are not only focusing on controllability but also designing an efficient hull for serving our purpose and also optimized propeller using CFD technique. Motor were selected on the basis of the simulated thrust generated by propeller in ANSYS fluent software module. The methodology of underwater robotics involves a series of steps and process that are followed in a design, construction and operation. These steps typically include: requirements definition, design, prototype construction, testing and operation.