SUMMARY

The purpose of this project is to develop an autonomous mobile robot platform that can navigate, untethered, in a confined underwater environment. From pipelines and piping structures to underwater risers and installations, numerous underwater spaces are hard to reach and require periodic and reliable inspection. We intend to develop a new autonomous vehicle to carry the inspection tools to those locations.

The study will focus on three areas: Mechatronic Design, Perception and Planning and Control. We designed a maneuverable underwater robot and plan to implement a pose estimation technique using structured light as well as obstacle detection with pattern matching. To navigate autonomously within a structure, appropriate mapping and planning techniques will be investigated and tested. In pursuing this project we hope to assess the feasibility of using a maneuverable robot in such confined environments, and in doing so understand the limitations and opportunities that come within.