1. ROVs What is an ROV? Remotely Operated Vehicle—an underwater robot
Remote: the pilot is not in the vehicle
Operated: the vehicle is controlled by a person
Vehicle: it is a self-contained, integrated system
ROVs

2. All shapes and sizes ROVs come in many shapes and all sizes
Small observation vehicles may only have a camera and be 30 to 40 cm long
Large work vehicles can be the size of a house or semi-truck and have complex tools
Lots of vehicles in between

3. Other types of underwater robots
Autonomous underwater Vehicles (no cables)
Seagliders
Buoys
Wave gliders
Drifters

4. ROVs are used in a variety of fields…
Scientific research
Underwater archaeology
Oil & gas drilling support
Reconnaissance
Homeland Security
CSI
Telecommunications
Student Competitions
Spying???
BP spill

5. ROVs are designed with a mission in mind, but sometimes must do other tasks:
Rescue a disabled ROV trapped inside Titanic
Cap an oil well
Install instruments for an ocean observatory
Collect organisms from under the polar ice cap
Catalog data from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent
Rescue trapped submariners
Catalog diversity of a national marine sanctuary

6. ROV Anatomy summarized:
Structure (frame)—what keeps it all together
Flotation—what allows it to float
Ballast—what helps it to sink
Power—what supplies the energy for the vehicle
Propulsion—devices (motors & propellers) that transform electrical energy into motion
Control—directing the vehicle—switches, joysticks
Navigation and sensors—cameras, lights, sonar
Tools (payload)—manipulators, sampling devices (what you need to complete the task at hand)

7. Your mission: design and build an ROV that can…
Maneuver in a pool
Descend to the bottom
Retrieve
‘Biologicals’
Have fun!
PS—it’s not just a guy thing…click here to find out more

8. Our ROV Construction Frame Propulsion system Buoyancy & Ballast
Control and Power system
Payload

9. ROV-in-a-bag Frame: PVC pipe Propulsion system: Bilge Pump Motors
Buoyancy & Ballast: Pipe insulation foam
Control and Power: 12 volt battery and switch box
Payload: chopsticks, forks and PVC pipe

10. Ten guidelines to designing your ROV
Water pressure is always there
A structure keeps it all together
Bigger isn’t necessarily better
An ROV should float before it is ballasted
The weight always ends up below the floats

11. Ten guidelines to designing your ROV
Moving ballast weights tips the ROV
An ROV must be able to move
An ROV needs a controllable power source
It is important to navigate the ROV
Motor placement is important

12. Motor placement What directions do you want to go?
Up/down
Forward/backwards
Left/right or turning
How can three motors achieve this goal?

13. THREE DON’TS I TELL MY STUDENTS!!!!
DO NOT TEST YOUR MOTORS WHILE THEY LAY ON THE GROUND!
IT EATS UP THE PROPELLORS
DO NOT PULL YOUR ROV OUT OF THE WATER BY THE UNBILICAL CORD!
IT PULLS OUT THE WIRES
DO NOT CUT THE COLORED PVC PIPE
YOU MAY CUT THE WHITE PVC PIPE

14. How they are graded? Team effort Divide into your chosen team of 3
Build an ROV
Grade of C
Successfully deploy and maneuver your ROV in the pool
Grade of B
Successfully retrieve a ‘biological’ from the bottom
Grade of A

15. For more info on ROVs, MATE and MATE competitions…

16. Questions???