RU205208U1 - TELEVISION-CONTROLLED UNHABITABLE UNDERWATER APPARATUS - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model can be used for underwater inspection and survey work in coastal sea and inland waters with obstacles in the form of underwater objects on the way. The underwater vehicle contains an electronics unit housed in a robust sealed casing, vertical propellers and propulsion devices with a vector layout, a buoyancy unit, a video camera, illuminators, a camera tilt device, also located on the supporting frame, depth and course meters, and a control panel. The underwater vehicle is capable of detecting and avoiding underwater objects using an automatic obstacle avoidance and detection device. To detect obstacles, readings from the echo sounder, altimeter and all-round sonar are used. By integrating data with visual, inertial and coordinate systems of the path, the optimal path to bypass the underwater object is calculated. Confirmation of proximity is carried out by the front sonar and the distance sensor from the bottom. Obstacle avoidance is carried out with the priority of maintaining a distance from the bottom.

Description

The utility model relates to the field of marine technology and concerns the creation of systems for detecting and avoiding obstacles in the aquatic environment.

Known remote-controlled unmanned underwater vehicle "Marlin-350" (www.tetis-pro.ru), containing horizontal and vertical propellers, a buoyancy unit, a video camera and illuminators. The underwater vehicle is connected to the carrier vessel by a cable through which control commands, information from sensors, and a video signal are transmitted. This ROV allows detecting underwater objects and transmitting video images. The disadvantages of the above underwater vehicle include the fact that it does not provide automatic obstacle avoidance.

The task solved by the utility model is to expand the capabilities of the remotely controlled underwater vehicle when detecting underwater objects, providing the ability to automatically detect and avoid obstacles.

The task is achieved by the fact that an underwater vehicle containing an electronics unit housed in a strong, sealed housing, 4 vertical propellers and 4 horizontal propellers with a vector arrangement to increase the controllability of the ROV in automatic mode, fixed on an open polypropylene frame, a buoyancy unit, a video camera and illuminators for monitoring the surrounding space, a camera tilt device, depth and heading meters, a control panel for supplying control signals to the surface control unit, sending commands via a cable-bundle to the underwater vehicle, an automatic obstacle avoidance and detection device has been added. The device is capable of detecting obstacles on the readings of the altimeter, all-round sonar and echo sounder. The all-round sonar provides an acoustic image in a 360 ° sector. The data received from the sonar is used to plan the trajectory in the module for calculating the optimal avoidance path. The low frequency of updating information from the sonar limits the speed of the automatic movement of the ROV. The data from the look-ahead echo sounder supplement the acoustic information received from the sonar, increasing the maximum speed of the automatic movement of the ROV. The echo sounder and altimeter data are used in movement modes with maintaining a specified distance from the bottom surface. Sonar, echo sounder and altimeter use RS485 communication interface. Information from these devices is multiplexed and transmitted over a separate twisted pair of the TNLA cable bundle to the coastal station. Further, the interpreted data is transmitted to the electronic unit of the underwater vehicle for issuing commands to the propellers. Confirmation of proximity is carried out by the front sonar and the distance sensor from the bottom.

The Obstacle Avoidance Path calculator uses points on the radius of the scanning sonar when an obstacle is detected as variables. Based on the evaluation function, the most optimal point of the direction of travel is determined. With the help of fuzzy logic control, the angle of rotation of the ROV is calculated to bypass the obstacle.

Claims (1)

An underwater vehicle controlled by the operator through a cable bundle, consisting of an electronics unit housed in a strong sealed case, vertical and propulsion thrusters fixed on the supporting frame, a buoyancy unit, a video camera, illuminators, a camera tilt device, also placed on the supporting frame, depth gauges and a course, a control panel, characterized in that a device for automatic detection and avoidance of obstacles is added to it, consisting of ultrasonic sensors measuring the distance to obstacles, a unit for processing and interpreting these data and issuing commands to the propellers.