Design and Construction of a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicule) Submarine USFQ

In the present work, a motorized remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was developed. The platform is capable of carrying navigation sensors, vision and control systems. The ultimate goal was to design and build an underwater vehicle operated by remote control which allows recording of audio and video. In a first stage of the project, research was conducted on existing ROVs. With this information and based on the design requirements of the USFQ marine research team, a detailed mechanical design of the vehicle was developed. The construction of the first Ecuadorian ROV was carried out at the USFQ robotics laboratory.The USFQ ROV has an innovative design using a conical 60° thruster configuration. Two blocks of thruster are installed in the ROV one in the front and one in the back of the ROV Each block has three Seabotix BTD-150 thrusters which are aligned with 60° between each thruster. This conical thruster configuration allowed to the ROV five degrees of freedom.The control, data acquisition and the Human Machine Interface (HMI) for the ROV was programmed using the software LabView. LabView allow the steady connection in real time between the control equipment inside the ROV and the laptop and joystick in surface. The ROV has the ability to record audio and video, capture photography’s, data acquisition and a real time remotely control of the platform without interferences or control delays.After checking the mechanical operation of the submarine and the tightness of the dry chambers, the electrical control components, motors, sensors, video camera and hydrophone were installed.Finally, tests were done in a swimming pool to check for leaks, buoyancy and mobility. Open water tests were performed afterwards on the Ecuadorian coast. The final destination of the submarine is the Galapagos Science Center, GAIAS, located in San Cristobal Island, Galápagos. Where it will be used as a research tool by GAIAS investigators.