• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.180-193
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• 2020

In this study, the end-effector tracking performance of a manipulator installed on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for autonomous underwater intervention is verified. The underwater manipulator is an ARM 7E MINI model produced by the ECA group, which consists of six joints and one gripper. Of the six joints of the manipulator, two are revolute joints and the other four are prismatic joints. Velocity control is used to control the manipulator with forward and inverse kinematics. When the manipulator approaches a target object, it is difficult for the ROV to maintain its position and posture, owing to various disturbances, such as the variation in both the center of mass and the reaction force resulting from the manipulator motion. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate for the influences and ensure the relative distance to the object. Simulations and experiments are performed to track the trajectory of a virtual object, and the tracking performance is verified from the results.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.454-461
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• 2019

In autonomous interventions using an underwater vehicle with a manipulator, grasping based on target detection and recognition is one of the core technologies. To complete an autonomous grasping task, the vehicle body approaches the target closely and then holds it through operating the end-effector of the manipulator, while the vehicle maintains its position and attitude without unstable motion. For vehicle motion control, it is very important to identify the hydrodynamic parameters of the underwater vehicle, including the propulsion force. This study examined the propulsion characteristics of the autonomous intervention ROV developed by KRISO, because there is a difference between the real exerted force and the expected force. First, the mapping between the input signal and thrusting force for each underwater thruster was obtained through a water tank experiment. Next, the real propulsion forces and moments of the ROV exerted by thrusting forces were directly measured using an F/T (force/torque) sensor attached to the ROV. Finally, the differences between the measured and expected values were confirmed.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.168-177
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• 2019

KRISO (Korea Research Institute of Ship & Ocean Engineering) started a project to develop the core algorithms for autonomous intervention using an underwater robot in 2017. This paper introduces the development of the robot platform for the core algorithms, which is an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) type with one 7-function manipulator. Before the detailed design of the robot platform, the 7E-MINI arm of the ECA Group was selected as the manipulator. It is an electrical type, with a weight of 51 kg in air (30 kg in water) and a full reach of 1.4 m. To design a platform with a small size and light weight to fit in a water tank, the medium-size manipulator was placed on the center of platform, and the structural analysis of the body frame was conducted by ABAQUS. The robot had an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a DVL (Doppler Velocity Log), and a depth sensor for measuring the underwater position and attitude. To control the robot motion, eight thrusters were installed, four for vertical and the rest for horizontal motion. The operation system was composed of an on-board control station and operation S/W. The former included devices such as a 300 VDC power supplier, Fiber-Optic (F/O) to Ethernet communication converter, and main control PC. The latter was developed using an ROS (Robot Operation System) based on Linux. The basic performance of the manufactured robot platform was verified through a water tank test, where the robot was manually operated using a joystick, and the robot motion and attitude variation that resulted from the manipulator movement were closely observed.