Design and Development of an Autonomous BlueROV2 Deployment and Recovery System for a BlueBoat USV

Project description

Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)/Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are increasingly used for environmental monitoring, hydrographic survey, infrastructure inspection and maritime research. Combining surface and underwater robotic platforms can substantially extend mission capability; however, deploying and recovering an underwater vehicle from a small uncrewed surface platform presents significant mechanical, electrical, control and operational challenges. This Honours project will investigate, design and prototype a deployment and recovery system for a BlueROV2 operated from a BlueBoat USV. The project will specifically consider the standard six-thruster BlueROV2 rather than the larger Heavy configuration. The objective is to enable the BlueBoat to transport the BlueROV2 to an operating area, deploy it into the water, support its operation, and subsequently recover and secure it for transport. The system should minimise requirements for direct human intervention and ultimately provide a pathway toward autonomous or semi-autonomous deployment and recovery. The project is deliberately multidisciplinary and will require integration of mechanical design, electrical and electronic systems, sensing, embedded control and software.

Co-supervisors

Professor Karl Sammut

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