backpackable remotely operated underwater vehicle (rov)

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SENIOR PRACTICUM PROJECTS PROGRAM

Backpackable Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV)

Project Plan

September 18, 2012

Team Members

Dondero, Rachel [email protected] ________________________________

Hake, Michael [email protected] ________________________________

Kopacz, Justin [email protected] ________________________________

Romer, Sarah [email protected] ________________________________

Stahler, Luke [email protected] ________________________________

Project Sponsor Signature: ___________________________________________________________

Table of Contents

Introduction and Background ......................................................................................................... 2

Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 2

Background ................................................................................................................................. 2

Problem Statement .......................................................................................................................... 5

Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 6

Requirements (Constraints and Criteria) ........................................................................................ 7

Work Plan ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Concluding Section ......................................................................................................................... 9

Proposed Budget ............................................................................................................................. 9

References ..................................................................................................................................... 11

Project Plan: Backpackable Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV)

2

Introduction and Background

Introduction

The purpose of this project is to design a backpackable remotely operated underwater vehicle

(ROV) which would be used by researchers with limited budgets to explore areas that are

difficult to access and/or too dangerous to explore with human teams.

The design project is sponsored by Corey Jaskolski—president of Hydro Technologies and

National Geographic explorer—who will coordinate design requirements and specifications with

the student design team. Other stakeholders who will be interested in or impacted by the design

include National Geographic, the student design team, Drs. Donahue and Stansloski—course

instructors, the Colorado State University department of mechanical engineering, as well as all

beneficiaries of the vehicle (the science community, those interested in underwater exploration,

etc.).

The major goal of the design is to develop a vehicle that satisfies the driving forces behind the

project as well as all of the customer’s needs. Mainly, this consists of developing an ROV (and

supporting equipment) that is lightweight, robust, and easily portable as it will be trekked

through arduous terrain. The vehicle also needs to be able to withstand pressures at reasonable

depths in addition to a reasonable range in temperature. The design team conducting the project

will consist of five engineering students; three electrical engineering majors will develop, test,

and fine-tune all of the vehicle’s electrical systems while two mechanical engineering majors

will complete the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of the vehicle.

Background The remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) was originally developed by the United States

Navy in 1961 as a means to recover torpedoes lost on the ocean floor. Until the mid-1970s,

various governments were responsible for the funding and development of the majority of the

world’s ROVs; however, 96 percent of the vehicles produced between 1974 and 1982 were

developed, funded, or purchased by private industry [1]. The rise of the private industry within

the ROV market sparked competition. As a result, ROVs were produced at an accelerating rate.

The original driving force behind designing ROVs was to make bigger, more powerful, and

deeper-diving vehicles for deep-sea exploration. In 1990, an ROV developed by the U.S. Navy

reached a depth of 20,000 feet; shortly after, a Japanese ROV reached the bottom of the Mariana


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Trench (close to 36,000 feet) [1]. As of 2006, there were over 450 builders and developers of

ROVs [1]. Today, ROVs are used for a variety of underwater tasks, from ocean exploration to

underwater oil rig maintenance (see Figure 1 below for an image of an ROV).

Figure 1: Image of an observation-class ROV exploring an undersea volcano [2]

While ROV popularity has ballooned over the past five decades, more than two-thirds of the

world is underwater and has yet to be explored [3]. A small, yet significant, portion of this

unexplored territory lies within difficult terrain, such as alpine lakes and underwater caves. It

would be impossible to transport the majority of current commercial ROVs to these locations due

to their sheer size and weight. In addition, these locations are too dangerous to explore with

human scuba teams. The increased elevation of alpine lakes poses a greater threat of nitrogen

saturation and decompression sickness within the divers [4] and caves are dangerous in their own

regard. Corey Jaskolski, the president of Hydro Technologies (Windsor, CO), is a National

Geographic explorer and has been on expeditions to some of these dangerous locations. Mr.

Jaskolski instituted the Backpackable Underwater ROV Senior Design project because he

recognizes a need in the science community for such a device that is currently unfulfilled by

commercial ROVs. Mr. Jaskolski wants to develop a durable and easily transportable inspection-

class ROV capable of modularly supporting a full-spherical imager that is currently under


4

development. An inspection-class ROV is used to position a video camera and simple sensor

package underwater; it is connected to a small base station via wire tether where it is controlled

by the operators [1], [5]. Mr. Jaskolski believes the device would play a significant role in

discovering new species of organisms, ancient artifacts and remains, and other potentially

historical finds. The backpackable ROV would offer a unique ability to observe environments in

real-time that are currently impossible to view in any cost-effective or practical manner [6].

There are many observation-class ROVs in the world today (around 3,000 in 2006 [1]); many of

these devices satisfy similar needs as the desired ROV of this project. An example of one of

these devices is described in [7]. This ROV minimizes tether diameter by placing batteries

onboard the ROV and by utilizing fiber-optic tether; however, the device has over two

kilometers of tether and would not be backpackable due to its large, cumbersome size. In

contrast, the vehicle described in [3] is very compact and minimizes thruster count to improve

the power-weight ratio of the vehicle; though, this device seems rather fragile (not ideal for

rugged travel) and has an unnecessarily large tether diameter because power is transmitted to the

ROV via the tether.

There are also ROVs that accomplish similar, yet different, results as the desired vehicle of this

project. In addition to traditional invention, ROVs have been the subject matter of many

collegiate competitions throughout the country. [8] is a report that describes one such

competition. The purpose of this particular competition was to design an ROV capable of diving

12 meters, opening some sort of case, and attaching a cable into a port within the case. The

competition ROV is classified as work-class (as opposed to observation-class) because it

performs some function other than positioning a camera underwater. Another work-class ROV is

described in [9]. This ROV is capable of operating light hydraulic equipment to perform various

tasks (such as oil rig maintenance).

In conclusion, it is evident that there are many types of ROVs in the world used for a variety of

reasons; however, there are currently no commercial ROVs that satisfy all of Mr. Jaskolski’s

criteria. The purpose of this project, therefore, is to design a unique ROV capable of being

transported through difficult terrain to capture video and images of unexplored, remote bodies of

water. It is important to note that no applicable standards regarding ROVs were found during the

research for this paper.


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Problem Statement National Geographic researchers have been exploring the world for decades. Although

technology has evolved greatly since the first expeditions, explorers are still constrained on the

amount of equipment they can take due to the size and weight of their gear. With that said, there

exist bodies of water that are difficult, if not impossible, to explore with current commercial

ROVs due to their sheer size and weight. In addition, these locations are often too dangerous to

explore with human scuba teams. The development of a lightweight and portable ROV would

allow the explorers to remain safely on the surface and would significantly reduce the cost and

risk associated with these treacherous excursions.

The customer, Corey Jaskolski, is the President of Hydro-Technologies and a long-time National

Geographic explorer. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a

Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer science. In 2001, Mr. Jaskolski took

part in an expedition supporting James Cameron’s documentary filming of the Titanic. During

the expedition, Mr. Jaskolski descended to the wreck of the Titanic (12,500 feet) to support

robotic ROV operations [10]. Mr. Jaskolski approached Colorado State University with the

backpackable ROV project. In addition to being the customer, Mr. Jaskolski is serving as the

design team sponsor and is providing the team with a $10,000 budget.

Mr. Jaskolski has been on expeditions to some of the dangerous locations previously mentioned

and recognizes a need in the science community for a lightweight and portable ROV. This need

stems from the fact that currently-available commercial ROVs are large, heavy, and/or

expensive. This project is needed now because there are many difficult-to-access bodies of water

believed to hold historical remains of ancient peoples and societies and a backpackable ROV

would make the exploration of these locations much more practical.

The end-users of the backpackable ROV are researchers with limited budgets wishing to explore

the previously mentioned difficult-to-access bodies of water. As stated above, other stakeholders

who will be interested in or impacted by the design include National Geographic, the student

design team, the senior design course instructors (Dr. Donahue and Dr. Stansloski), the Colorado

State University department of mechanical engineering, the science community, those interested

in underwater exploration, and all other beneficiaries of the vehicle.


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Goals and Objectives There are several goals that, if satisfied, will lead to satisfaction of the project. The first goal is to

produce an ROV that is capable of diving to a “useful” depth. The corresponding objective is to

maximize the dive depth of the vehicle in a practical manner (see Table 1 below for a complete

list of project objectives). The target depth of 60m is the baseline set by the customer; a vehicle

that can dive deeper than 60m is desired. The next goal is to produce a vehicle that can operate

for a “useful” amount of time. The objective that reflects this goal is to maximize the operable

time of the ROV. The customer desires a vehicle with a work-time of 30 to 60 minutes.

Obviously, the vehicle becomes more useful as its operating time increases; therefore, the goal

and objective is to maximize the ROV’s operating time. The third goal of the project is to create

a vehicle that can withstand a high range of temperatures. The ROV will be used to explore a

wide variety of underwater bodies and, therefore, will likely experience various temperature

extremes. As Table 1 shows, the objective set to attain this goal is to maximize the temperature

tolerance that the vehicle can withstand. The customer has set target values of -10 and 60 .

Finally, the most important goal of the project is to produce a vehicle that can be easily

transported through difficult terrain. Therefore, two pairs of objectives have been set to help

achieve this goal; to minimize: (1) the weight of the vehicle and the corresponding equipment

(tether, topside GUI, etc.) and (2) the size of the vehicle and corresponding equipment. A

maximum weight of 40lbs for both the vehicle and the equipment is desired by the customer.

Maximum linear dimensions of 20”x18”x14” were arbitrarily set by the design team because

they seem like reasonable packable dimensions.

Table 1: Project Objectives

Objective Name Priority Rating Method of

Measurement Objective Direction

Target

Dive Depth 5 Depth (m) Maximize > 60

Operable Time 5 Time (min.) Maximize 30 – 60

Size of Topside 3 Linear Dimensions

(in.) Minimize 20x18x14

Size of Vehicle 3 Linear Dimensions

(in.) Minimize 20x18x14

Temperature Tolerance

4 Temperature ( ) Maximize -10 to 60


7

Weight of Equipment

5 Weight (lb) Minimize < 40

Weight of Vehicle 5 Weight (lb) Minimize < 40

Requirements (Constraints and Criteria) There are several constraints that are required for a successful project; the constraints are

summarized in Table 2 below. Foremost, the ROV needs to be backpackable and robust; this is

the main constraint driving the project. The vehicle will be trekked through jungles and up

mountains and may be checked as luggage on an airliner. Therefore, the ROV needs to be

lightweight and able to endure rough handling. In order to minimize the tether size and weight,

the vehicle must be powered on-board. Therefore, the design team is constrained by designing

around the size and weight of the on-board power source(s) selected. Next, the customer wishes

to attach a full-spherical imager that is currently under development to the vehicle. With that

said, the third project constraint is that the vehicle must be able to modularly support various

payloads (the full-spherical imager, a water sampler, etc.). Finally, the design team is constrained

by the sponsor’s budget ($10,000) and the due date of the project (Colorado State University E-

Days: April 12, 2013).

Table 2: Project Constraints

Constraint Name Method of Measurement Limits

Backpackable and Robust Ability to endure rough handling Hiking, as checked luggage, etc.

Budget Dollars ($) < 10,000

Modular Capability Ability to support modular

payloads Water sampler, full spherical

imager, etc.

On-Board Power Is power supplied on-board the

vehicle? Size and weight of batteries

Time Is the vehicle fully-functional by

E-Days? April 12, 2013

Work Plan In order to verify that the final design should meet the designated objectives and constraints, the

following work plan has been established (see Table 3 below). It lists the design steps necessary


8

to assist in the successful completion of the project. Project background was a critical step to

fully understand the project domain and to establish appropriate customer requirements. Much

analysis and brainstorming will have to be completed prior to selecting and proceeding with a

final concept. Once the final concept is selected, it will be fully-modeled using computer-aided

design (CAD) software. Finally, the CAD model of the vehicle will be analyzed using free body

diagrams in addition to finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamic (CFD)

software.

Table 3: Project Work Plan

Task Name Description Responsible Individual(s)

Project Background Research phase to understand the history and relevance of the project and project domain

Hake, Stahler

Identify Customers Research phase to identify current customer as well as

potential future end-users Hake, Stahler

Generate Customer Requirements

Meet with customer to receive information required to generate customer requirements

Dondero, Hake, Kopacz, Romer,

Stahler

Website Design Design of open-source team project website to display

project information (EE requirement) Dondero, Kopacz,

Romer

QFD Analysis Analysis phase consisting of generating specifications from customer requirements, analyzing specification

tradeoffs, and setting target parameters

Dondero, Hake, Kopacz, Romer,

Stahler

Electrical Design Phase

Preliminary design and analysis of electrical components and their interaction within the device

Dondero, Kopacz, Romer

Develop Multiple Mechanical Concepts

Design phase to develop several ROV design concepts for consideration and analysis

Hake, Stahler

Analyze Mechanical Concepts

Analysis phase to weigh the positives and negatives of each concept against customer requirements

Hake, Stahler

Choose Concept for Development

Utilize Pugh Method and decision matrix to determine the best concept to proceed with

Hake, Stahler

Refine Concept and Generate CAD Model

Refine the concept selected and utilize CAD software to develop a digital model of the ROV

Hake, Stahler

Perform Free Body Diagram Analysis

Perform a free body diagram analysis to optimize the locations of the centers of gravity and buoyancy of the

vehicle Hake, Stahler

Perform FEA Analysis Perform FEA analysis to analyze the pressures and

forces acting on the vehicle during operation Hake, Stahler

Perform CFD Analysis Perform CFD analysis using ANSYS software to analyze

the drag of the vehicle during operation Hake, Stahler


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Concluding Section The backpackable ROV project offers the design team the opportunity to work with a customer

to solve a “real-world” design problem; however, many challenges will need to be overcome in

order to successfully complete the project. One such challenge will be the multidisciplinary

coordination between the mechanical engineering students and the electrical engineering

students. As with any group of individuals, there are many different personalities, opinions,

strengths, and weaknesses on the team. This challenge must be overcome and the design team

must work well together to meet the requests of the customer. There are many difficult aspects

on both the mechanical and electrical sides of the project. ROVs may seem like simple machines

at a glance, but there are many calculations and analyses that need to be performed in order to

ensure that the vehicle will consistently operate as expected at extreme values of depth and

temperature. Because the backpackable ROV team consists of two smaller teams (mechanical

and electrical), all team members will be challenged with a high work load within their

disciplines. This, however, will allow each team member to gain a vast amount of knowledge

and experience; this will result in a highly rewarding experience for the design team.

Proposed Budget The customer has provided the design team with a comfortable budget of $10,000 for the

production of one, complete ROV system. The motors and batteries have a high initial cost of

purchase but will save the team from spending money on the replacement of “cheap” parts. The

customer’s company, Hydro-Technologies, possesses machines for fabrication and various scrap

material that can potentially be utilized by the team during the project fabrication phase; this will

save the design team a considerable amount of money. Table 4 below provides an estimated cost

breakdown for the project. Because the vehicle and topside controller have yet to be designed, it

is unclear how much these components will cost to produce; however, given the projected

budget, the design team has $2,850 of additional funding to assist where needed.

Table 4: Proposed Project Budget

Item Type Quantity Price Per Item Total Value

Income Budget income from sponsor

1 $10,000 + $10,000

Motors Tangible item 4 $600 $2,400

Sensors Tangible item --- --- $100


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Processors (Arduino)

Tangible item 4 $60 $240

Batteries Tangible item 3 $350 $1,050

Fiber-Optic Cable Tangible item 2 $430 $860

GoPro Camera Tangible item 2 $200 $400

Lights Tangible item --- --- $100

Top Side Equipment

Raw material and tangible items

--- --- $1,000

Material for ROV body

Raw material --- --- $1,000

Total Difference: + $2,850


11

References

[1] R. D. Christ and R. L. Wernli Sr., "The ROV Manual: A User Guide for Observation-Class

Remotely Operated Vehicles," Burlington, Elsevier, 2007, pp. 3-7, 18, 289.

[2] National Geographic, "Pictures: Giant Undersea Volcano Revealed," 15 July 2010. [Online].

Available: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/photogalleries/100715-giant-

underwater-volcano-indonesia-kawio-barat-science-pictures/#/giant-undersea-volcano-

kawio-barat-rov-water_23441_600x450.jpg. [Accessed 6 September 2012].

[3] C. T. Hawkes, "Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle". United States of America Patent

7,845,303, 7 December 2012.

[4] T. K. Chamberlain, Oceanography: The Science of the Sea, Mason: Cengage Learning,

2010.

[5] D. D. Huntsman, "Underwater Vehicles". United States of America Patent 6,807,921, 26

October 2004.

[6] J. Klump, R. Paddock, I. Babb and P. Auster, The Evolution and Development of the Small

ROV as an Essential Experimental Tool in Limnological and Coastal Marine Research,

Milwaukee, WI and Groton, CT: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Great Lakes

Wisconsin Aquatic Technical and Environmental Research Institute, and the University of

Connecticut at Avery Point.

[7] D. Weaver, T. Tolman, D. Boyd and S. Dann, "Hybrid Remotely/Autonomously Operated

Underwater Vehicle". United States of America Patent Application 11/806,236, 30 May

2007.

[8] H. Brundage, L. Cooney, E. Huo, H. Lichter, O. Oyebode, P. Sinha, M. Stanway, T.

Stefanov-Wagner, K. Stiehl and D. Walker, Design of an ROV to Compete in the 5th Annual

MATE ROV Competition and Beyond, Cambridge: Massachusettes Institute of Technology,

2006.

[9] Q. Wu, The Development of Seapup (A Light Work Class ROV), Singapore: RACAL

Techno-Transfer Industres Pte LTD, 1997.

[10] Hydro-Technologies, "Hydro-Technologies: About Us," Hydro-Technologies, 2009.

[Online]. Available: http://www.hydro-tech.com/about_us/about_us.htm. [Accessed 15

September 2012].

backpackable remotely operated underwater vehicle (rov)

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