The Eyeball ROV : An Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle Featuring Advances in Rotational Actuation

The design for a spherical Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) with a camera, called the Eyeball ROV due to motions similar to the human eye, is presented in this thesis. The ROV features an actuation scheme that utilizes a two-axis gimbal for changing the location of the center of mass of the ROV. This creates continuous and unlimited rotations in place on the part of the ROV, allowing the camera to be panned and tilted. A model of the ROV is presented, and control was tested in both simulation and experiments. In addition, a dual-use system for both communication and localization of the ROV is presented. This novel dual-use system uses visible blue light (-470nm) to relay data in addition to providing a beacon with which the orientation and position in space of the ROV was estimated. This localization algorithm was implemented using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and was tested in both simulations and expenments. Thesis Supervisor: H. Harry Asada Title: Ford Professor of Mechanical Engineering Acknowledgments I would firstly like to thank Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and my contact there, Mr. Jun Fujita, for funding the research presented in this thesis. I would also like to thank Professor H. Harry Asada for his guidance in completing this thesis. We have had an academic relationship since my time as an undergraduate, and I have found no one better to help me shape my ideas into reality. Several undergraduate students have also helped with various portions of this project, so I would like to thank both Ashley Fletcher and Hellen Lopez for their invaluable help. In addition, I would like to like to thank my parents, Greg and Kathleen Rust. From an early age they taught me the importance of clear and logical thought, the value of intellectual creativity, and the importance of dedication and hard work. Without such lessons, constant words of encouragement, and equally constant boxes of cookies sent through the mail, I would doubtlessly not have been as well equipped to perform the presented research. Lastly, I would like to thank Karen Dubbin for reminding me of the reason why I spent all those late nights working and the reason why I came home at the end of them.