Schlagwort: ROV

  • SeaPerch II introduces students to underwater ROV exploration

    SeaPerch II introduces students to underwater ROV exploration

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    While professionals around the world take advantage of Arduino products and the extensive ecosystem, the core Arduino philosophy is to simplify complex technology. A bare microcontroller is intimidating to the uninitiated, but an Arduino development board is friendly and approachable. MIT’s Sea Grant is harnessing that in their new SeaPerch II underwater ROV (remotely operated vehicle) design that is perfect for students.

    The MIT Sea Grant program launched the original SeaPerch initiative way back in 2003 as a way to bring students into the underwater world of ROVs. That original SeaPerch was affordable to build with common parts, but technology has progressed a lot in the past couple of decades and the new SeaPerch II will make use of what the modern scene has to offer.

    In particular, SeaPerch II will take a new modular approach for sensors, manipulation, and data collection systems. Those modules are built around Arduino boards for maximum accessibility and flexibility.

    SeaPerch II is still in its infancy, but there are already a few modules available that are compatible with the new base ROV. 

    Module 1, for example, is a “robot whisker sensor” designed around the Arduino UNO family of boards. It is a flexible, waterproof sensor that relies on variable resistance to detect contact with physical objects.

    Module 2 is a pressure, depth, and temperature sensor. Once again, the core component is an Arduino board. That monitors an Adafruit LPS35HW pressure sensor sealed inside a balloon. As the depth increases, so does the water pressure outside the balloon. That, in turn, increases the air pressure inside the balloon and the sensor measures the change.

    Like the original SeaPerch, SeaPerch II will offer students the chance to become acquainted with underwater ROVs and gain valuable skills along the way.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTNzBFul4C8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post SeaPerch II introduces students to underwater ROV exploration appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Explore underwater with this Arduino-controlled DIY ROV

    Explore underwater with this Arduino-controlled DIY ROV

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Who doesn’t want to explore underwater? To take a journey beneath the surface of a lake or even the ocean? But a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which is the kind of robot you’d use for such an adventure, isn’t exactly the kind of thing you’ll find on the shelf at your local Walmart. You can, however, follow this guide from Ranuga Amarasinghe to build your own ROV for some aquatic fun.

    Amarasinghe is a 16-year-old Sri Lankan student and this is actually the second iteration of his ROV design. As such, he’s dubbed it “ROV2” and it appears to be quite capable. All of its electronics sit safely within a 450mm length of sealed PVC tube. That mounts onto the aluminum extrusion frame structure that also hosts the six thrusters powered by drone-style brushless DC motors. 

    ROV2’s brain is an Arduino Mega 2560 board and it drives the BLDC motors through six electronic speed controllers (ESCs). It receives control commands from the surface via an umbilical. The operator holds a Flysky transmitter that sends radio signals to a receiver floating on the water. An Arduino UNO Rev3 reads those and then communicates the motor commands to the Mega through the tethered serial connection. That limits the maximum length of the tether to about 40 meters, which subsequently limits the maximum operating depth. 

    With the specified lithium battery pack, ROV2 can traverse the depths for 30-45 minutes. And when equipped with the 720p FPV camera, pilots can see and record all of the underwater action. 

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuvdwMVDttc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]
    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMgiR9Vb05c?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post Explore underwater with this Arduino-controlled DIY ROV appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • An ultra-affordable DIY underwater ROV

    An ultra-affordable DIY underwater ROV

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) let us explore bodies of water and it is hard not to be excited by the possibilities. But traditional ROVs cost a lot of money and often require serious expertise to operate and maintain. Luckily there are affordable alternatives, such as this DIY underwater rover designed by Science Buddies’ Ben Finio.

    Finio created this ROV specifically for educational purposes and so it accommodates a relatively small classroom budget. For about $100-150, a school science club can build this device and start exploring the depths. 

    In order to keep the costs down, Finio used as many everyday parts as possible. The hull, for example, is a food storage container and the weights to bring the vehicle close to neutral buoyancy are steel bar stock. This design doesn’t include a ballasts or thrusters to alter depth (it can only steer left or right), so users will have to experiment with the weights to reach the desired depth.

    This ROV has two thrusters for propulsion and steering. Those are electric DC motors controlled by an Arduino UNO Rev3 board through H-bridge drivers. Power comes from an onboard lithium battery and users pilot the craft with a remote control connected via a tether. That remote has two joysticks, each with one axis tied to one motor’s power.

    Finio suggests attaching a GoPro (or any other action camera) to the vessel to record the underwater action.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6w-RKSVKLU?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post An ultra-affordable DIY underwater ROV appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • An Arduino-powered underwater ROV made out of PVC pipe

    An Arduino-powered underwater ROV made out of PVC pipe

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Arduino Team — September 25th, 2021

    Exploring the vast underwater world is exciting, and personal breathing devices such as SCUBA allow for people to descend far further than usual. However, robots can be even better since they can operate much longer and more efficiently than a person. And because these underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) can be so expensive, Ranuga Amargasinghe wanted to construct his own DIY version that costs less. 

    The chassis of the ROV was fashioned from a series of 50mm PVC tubes that vary in size from 70mm all the way up to 450mm in length. A rectangular base acts as a skid and helps prevent rough landings from injuring the robot. Above that is a small box which houses a 12V lead-acid battery, along with the electronics. Commands are sent from the surface control box via UART to the Arduino Nano within the ROV, which in turn activates a bank of relay modules that turns on both the vertical and horizontal thrusters for planar movements. 

    Back on the surface, Amargasinghe built a small controller that has four buttons for adjusting the thrust vector of the robot by checking if certain combinations are pressed. There is also a central rocker switch for telling the robot to shutdown immediately if the user needs it to. Once the camera and a couple of white LEDs were attached to the front of the ROV, it was tested in a small pool of water and balanced based on the results of those tests. 

    To read more about how this DIY underwater ROV was created, you can check out Amargasinghe’s write-up here on Instructables.

    You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
    You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    Website: LINK