THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF UNDERWATER WORK WHICH ARE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS. THESE INCLUDE INSPECTION OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTAINMENT VESSELS AND WASTE POOLS, MINE COUNTERMEASURES ACTIVITIES, AND OFFSHORE OIL OPERATIONS UNDERTAKEN AT SIGNIFICANT DEPTHS. FOR THESE APPLICATIONS, REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLES (ROVS) ARE GAINING INCREASING ACCEPTANCE AS A COST-EFFECTIVE AND INTRINSICALLY SAFE REPLACEMENT FOR DIVERS AND MANNED VEHICLES. UNLIKE FIXED- BASE INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS, HOWEVER, THE CURRENT GENERATION OF ROVS ARE NOT FULLY PROGRAMMABLE MACHINES AND MUST BE FLOWN FROM A SURFACE CONTROL CONSOLE USING A JOYSTICK. THIS PAPER DESCRIBES THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TELEROBOTIC CONTROL SYSTEM AIMED AT REDUCING OPERATOR WORKLOAD AND IMPROVING VEHICLE PERFORMANCE BY PROVIDING CLOSED LOOP CONTROL.
| Number of Pages : | 6 |
| Published : | 06/01/1990 |
