ROVs: A marine robotics paragon.
“Beneath the surface of our oceans, lies the opportunity to learn and explore.”
Imagine someone saying they have witnessed the wonders of the unexplored depth of the ocean which you can’t even think of. This has two possibilities, either he or she is a superhuman to handle that level of pressure or that the person is lying. We clearly know the earlier one is a complete false but the later one has some probability of being a truth now. This is 2020, we are living in the prime-most era of technology. We have reached mars, taken the first ever photograph of black-hole but still there are several places in our oceans untouched by human race. Fortunately we are on the road to find the solution to this.
The solution that we are addressing here are remotely operated vehicles, also commonly called ROVs. This gadget is a marine robotics marvel that can be deployed deep into oceans for various purposes. Also known as water drones, these amazing machines are operated by a pilot on the shore or on the water surface and can reach to places underwater which are hard to reach by a normal human. Carl Wirsen from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), in his presentation displayed how little we know about the deepest part of the oceans. ROVs open the door to many opportunities for us to explore and learn more about our planet’s magnificent ocean life.
Although the invention of underwater ROV was done back in 1953, they gained much attraction and practical commercial relevance in the recent times only. What started as a project to retrieve torpedoes and mines from ocean is now amazingly converted into an industry of USD 1,727.6 million (data till 2017, Credit: Market Research Future) with its segmentation into oil & gas application, military & defense, scientific research and recreation purposes. It is estimated that this industry is going to witness a growth of 10.51%. This has not only opened opportunity for investors but also has created jobs for many people.
So, what is this device?
As clearly inferred by name, ROVs are underwater vessels with a tethered connection to the on-shore control system which allows pilot to control it from a longer range as well. Usually these machines are operated from the shore but for some application the control station is situated on a boat or a submarine. This increases the reach of ROVs even more in their working environment. Famously classified in two configuration, the open-box frame ROVs or the torpedo shaped ROVs, these are highly applicable in underwater surveillance. Although they are commonly used for the earlier mentioned task, ROVs have other applications too. In the recent time the use of open-box frame structured ROVs has increased in oil and gas sector. This vehicle is made specifically to handle the inhospitable environment and do an efficient inspection works.
Commercial ROVs body is usually built with aluminium, although with the growth in the society of marine robotics many students and researchers are coming up with a PVC pipe model of their own version of ROV. The design of any marine robot or any robot in general is not necessarily staple and based on the applicable environment and the purpose, still there are some ground rules of designing to be followed. The most important part of designing any underwater robot is managing its buoyancy. This is dependent on the tasks to be performed by the robot, the most common is the use of syntactic foams. The maneuvering is controlled via thrusters, the number of thrusters depends on the degree of freedom required by the vehicle. Besides this the crucial part of any ROV is its electronics cabinet, this is the housing of the brain of the vehicle. It is common to use air-tight water enclosed boxes with cable penetrators as electronics cabinet, this prevents all the electronics installed on the bot from any water contact. Some other methods are the use of oil-filled or pressurized compartments, this also prevents the components from extreme pressure exerted on the ROV while working deep into oceans. Apart from the sensors required for performing the required tasks, these are also equipped with SONAR or LIDAR for better feedback system. ROVs come in all sizes and shapes, depending on application and the area of deployment, though commonly used commercial ROVs’ are larger than the one used for recreational purposes.
How is it changing our life?
The popularity of underwater robotics is increasing day by day. The credit goes to organisations life MATE, MTS and RoboNation which are promoting this field to the most and because of this today many students and researchers are also joining to take this sector ahead. After all, we all are just a bunch of nerds coming together to build something which challenges us and contributes to society.
I have already mentioned the growth of ROV sector earlier. Based on the current stats, ROVs are used for military use, educational use and research purposes but this is not it. Many new companies are emerging everyday in this sector, mostly providing services to oil and gas production sector for inspection, surveillance and repairing. This vast market shows us how handy these water drones are, recent studies have show how ROVs are taking place of underwater divers and proving to be much efficient than humans. This has opened the doors for people to explore more into marine science and this is evident with the number of students today participating to make their own versions of ROVs in various competitions worldwide.
ROVs are not something new to this world, but we have just realized the potential to these marvelous brain child of human beings. This industry is supposed to grow larger than ever and many people are expected to get employment because of one machine, which was first designed to pick unused racks from the ocean bed but today has the potential to beat the deepest and even impossible to reach parts of this world.
