Design and development of Spaiser remotely operated vehicle

Abstract

Design of new unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) is a continuous process since decades, where finding an optimal design for a specific application is still a challenging subject. New inspection class category remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is developed to overcome some disadvantages of existing ROVs of the same category. It has been taken into consideration in the new design to be small, capable of maneuvering freely in 6 DOF, closed-hull body of minimum water resistive forces, low-cost components which work with high integration, one-duct tether (at low cost) and software program to be used with any PC instead of special control station. Detailed design of the internal network that combines sensors, thrusters’ controllers, and camera of the ROV is shown and smart communication architecture between the ROV and the control station is also introduced. Finally, in the computer layer, many aspects are discussed including communication protocol between the control station and the ROV, high-precision orientation angles calculation using inertial measurement unit (IMU), heading calculation of the ROV, and GUI of the control station.