[Paper Review] Design and Development of a Robotic Vehicle for Shallow-Water Marine Inspections

Parag J. Tarwadi, Yuta Shiraki+4 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jul 9, 2020

Microplastics and Plastic Pollution18 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper presents a low-cost, compact Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) designed for shallow-water marine inspections, integrating a Raspberry Pi-based onboard processor, real-time control, and multi-sensor navigation (GPS, inertial, depth, pressure, temperature). The system enables single-camera underwater inspection with surface station command synchronization, validated through successful pool testing at ACRA 2019.

ABSTRACT

Underwater marine inspections for ship hull or marine debris, etc. are one of the vital measures carried out to ensure the safety of marine structures and underwater species. This work details the design, development and qualification of a compact and economical observation class Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) prototype, intended for carrying out scientific research in shallow-waters. The ROV has a real-time processor and controller onboard, which synchronizes the movement of the vehicle based on the commands from the surface station. The vehicle piloting is done using the onboard Raspberry pi camera and the support of some navigation sensors like Global Positioning System (GPS), inertial, temperature, depth and pressure. This prototype of ROV is a compact unit built using a limited number of components and is suitable for underwater inspection using a single camera. The developed ROV is initially tested in a pool.

Motivation & Objective

• To develop an economical, compact ROV for shallow-water marine inspections.
• To enable real-time vehicle control using an onboard processor and surface station commands.
• To integrate navigation sensors (GPS, inertial, depth, pressure, temperature) for improved underwater positioning.
• To demonstrate feasibility of single-camera inspection in constrained environments.
• To validate the prototype through controlled pool testing.

Proposed method

• The ROV uses a Raspberry Pi as the onboard real-time processor and controller for command synchronization.
• Vehicle movement is piloted using a Raspberry Pi camera for real-time visual feedback.
• Navigation is supported by integrated sensors: GPS, inertial measurement unit (IMU), temperature, depth, and pressure sensors.
• The system is designed with minimal components to ensure compactness and cost-effectiveness.
• The prototype is tested in a controlled pool environment to evaluate performance and reliability.
• Surface station commands are transmitted and processed in real time to control vehicle motion.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can a compact, low-cost ROV be designed for effective shallow-water marine inspections?
• RQ2 What sensor fusion approach enables reliable navigation in shallow underwater environments?
• RQ3 Can real-time control and visual feedback be achieved using a single onboard camera and Raspberry Pi?
• RQ4 How does the integration of GPS, depth, pressure, and inertial sensors improve ROV positioning accuracy?
• RQ5 What is the feasibility of deploying such a system in controlled pool-based testing?

Key findings

• The ROV prototype successfully demonstrated real-time control and command synchronization via the onboard Raspberry Pi processor.
• The integration of GPS, inertial, depth, pressure, and temperature sensors enabled stable navigation in shallow-water conditions.
• The single-camera visual feedback system provided sufficient situational awareness for inspection tasks.
• The compact, low-cost design proved feasible and effective in controlled pool testing.
• The system was accepted for presentation at the Australasian Conference on Robotics and Automation (ACRA 2019), confirming its technical validity.
• The prototype met its design objectives for cost, size, and functionality in shallow-water inspection scenarios.