Delivery of an Advanced Double-Hull Ship Welding System using RoboCrane

The Office of Naval Research has sponsored a collaborative effort between the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, Advanced Technology and Research Corporation, Newport News Shipbuilders, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Phase I of this effort is nearing completion to autonomously weld double-hull ship sections together. In order to accomplish the delivery of industrial equipment (welder, weld robot, power supply) to the work-site, an advanced crane concept called “RoboCrane” was employed. Typically, a crane equipped with conventional controls would be used to deliver worker-assisted and controlled welding systems. But, the expense, inefficiencies, and the unsafe environment that the project imposes on workers make it a more suitable robotic application. RoboCrane is used to pick-up, deliver, and retrieve advanced welding systems using remote control to/from the work-site where double-hull ship sections are to be joined by welding. The paper provides description of the RoboCrane application to advanced double-hull ship construction, including system configuration of RoboCrane and the weld system, control and sensory feedback, and other applications considered.