Self-management of the umbilical of a ROV for underwater exploration

Autogestion de l'ombilical d'un ROV pour l'exploration sous-marine

Christophe Viel (1, 2)

1 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
2 Lab-STICC_ROBEX - Equipe ROBotics for EXploration

This article focuses on a passive self-management of the umbilical of a Removed Operated Vehicle (ROV) for underwater exploration. The objective is to give a predictable shape to the umbilical using moving ballast and buoys to stretch the umbilical and so to avoid knots on the cable itself or with environmental obstacles. The ballast and buoys move by themselves to maintain the cable taut without a motorized system. A model of the umbilical is proposed. Case with and without currents are considered. Three configurations of umbilical are proposed, each one to be the most adapted for ROV exploration missions: close-surface, sea exploration, and diving with presence of large obstacles.

Mots clés: Underwater robotics; cables management; cables model

Domaines: Robotique [cs.RO]; Géométrie algébrique [math.AG]

Christophe Viel. Self-management of the umbilical of a ROV for underwater exploration. 2021. ⟨hal-03286654v1⟩