Design and Implementation of Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

ROV refers to Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle, it is a tethered vehicle which can be controlled by an operator on the surface without the need for the diver. The ROV can perform many tasks in different underwater fields. The main goal of this project is to develop and improve a small scale of underwater vehicle that can be used for pipelines Inspection and Environmental Investigation and make it more suitable for industrial use, also to document in detail how a small scale ROV is constructed from the start. The challenge is to build a small scale ROV to perform the same tasks. The result of this thesis is the creation of a small scale ROV moved with three direct current motors and controlled through a joystick, with a camera which monitors the movement of the ROV and the underwater life. The design has been developed successfully. The developed ROV is smaller and lighter with a suitable design to move smoothly. Control and monitoring had been implemented, in addition to minimizing the cost, which make it suitable for widespread deep water industrial applications. There were not many unexpected problems during the construction of smaller scale ROV and the diver tests showed that the underwater vehicle works as planned. However, there is still possibility for further improvements, such as adding manipulators and increasing the working depth of the underwater vehicle.