Search and Rescue Remotely Operated Vehicle (SARROV)

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Project by: Scott Pickering, Chris Doyle, A.J. Roher, and Aaron Jutila

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Gallatin County Search and Rescue for the initial idea. Cameron Law for his translation between the two offices, and Dr. Stephen Sofie and Dr. Hashem Nehrir for giving us the inspiration and motivation for doing this project. Thanks to: Precision Engineering for the aluminum and polycarbonate stock, and delrin stock, Quest Communications for the laptop, Xtreme Communications for the data cable, Delta Electronics Inc. for providing the DC to DC converter, TDK Lamda for sending us an AC to DC converter, ACE Hardware for providing the miscellaneous parts, Wholesale Sports for the flashlights and “lighting our path”, Revelation Industries for donating the time for the powder coat, and Graybar for the power cable. Thank you to all for donating the major components to make this ROV work and operate. Thank you Advanced Electronic Design, Rocky Mountain Hobbiez, Abell Hobbies, and all others who helped with this project. We can never thank you enough.

What it Does

The Search and Rescue Remotely Operated Vehicle (SAR ROV) is an unmanned vehicle that will allow for continuous searches for lost underwater property and victims of the cold waters in the Hyalite Canyon Reservoir and other lakes and streams in the Gallatin county. It has four thruster motors that drive the ROV forward, backward, left, right, up, and down. Then there is two other motors that control the arm open and close while allowing for the wrist to rotate. This allows for a simple but effective movement of the arm. These systems are all controlled from the surface via a tether. The tether sends commands from the surface to the ROV and allows for signals to be received from the ROV in sensors and a camera system to allow the operators to see.

The power system consists of an 120 Volt Alternating Current (AC) line, this is your plug in wall voltage, that goes into an AC to Direct Current (DC) converter, provided by TDK Lambda, that has an output of 48 Volts DC and allows for 500 watts of power to be transmitted to the ROV. With this the 48V DC is then transmitted over a 300 foot power cable and is connected to another DC to DC converter, provided by Delta Electronics Inc. that takes 48 Volt DC input and outputs a 12 Volt DC that has about 300 Watts of power. This power then runs through a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) to be distributed to the different subsystems that require power. Some of these systems need to have different DC voltages this requires linear voltage regulators to step down the voltage.

The camera, temperature, and pressure sensors are very critical for the safe operation of divers. While the camera is considered one of the most important pieces of equipment on the ROV as it allows for the operator to see what is in front of him and allows him to avoid obstacles in the path of the ROV. It also allows for the use of the arm while locating the object to be either clipped via a carabiner or a hook to allow for the object to be raised from the surface. All without involving or risking a human diver.

The camera will display this information on the surface using a laptop to log the data and record the video of what happened down below. There will also be another computer system called a DAQX system that allows for temperature and pressure sensor voltage to be sampled and correlated to determine the temperature, depth and pressure of the ROV at a specific time.

Ground Support

There will be only three things that the ROV will require to operate one is a 120 Volt AC generator and the second is a human operator and the third is a laptop computer. The rest of it is either included in cases or into other subsystems inside of the boxes. This allows for quick start up and being able to get out in the water as fast as possible without having to deal with a lot of other specialty equipment. This whole setup should be capable of being launched by a single person.
This requires the whole system to be light but strong. That is why using aluminum is such a key and important piece in building this ROV, because it is light but strong enough to handle the elements of the water. It is also easy to repair and allows for any local shop to work on any type of repair work.

PICTURES

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Motor testing with different props, this was our old set up and the motors tested were not strong enough and that caused a new design change and parts. Though the housing for the motors did not change but the diameter of how big the inside of the housing was altered to accommodate the new motors.

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From left to right, the silver box is an AC to DC converter that sends 48 volts through an ammeter and then goes on a breadboard, it is then passed to a DC to DC converter and then off onto the motors. This is a little crude setup but it allows for greater power output to the motors during testing.

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Chris Doyle is pictured here tightening down the screws on the custom motor house that the mechanical engineering team designed for underwater use. This would be the version 2.0 of this design.

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Here is a closer look at the DC to DC drive. The piece is a relatively small but it packs a lot of current and current is required to run the motors at top speed. The DC to DC drive is provided by Delta Electronics Inc. and measures approximately 1.5’’ X 2.5’’ It is a very nice DC to DC converter for this application.

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Here is the AC to DC converter that we are currently working with. There are design plans for a different AC to DC converter that was provided by TDK-Lambda. This will allow for more current to reach the ROV and supply the power required to run the ROV more effectively.

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The current props that were tested using the motor and motor housing above. The best one is not the largest one but the smallest prop in the bottom. Out of all of them that one performed the best and using that same shape as a guide there has to be new props selected that will allow for greater thrust.

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Our current lab and frame for the ROV is nearing completion. Next up is the box for the electronics and camera housing.

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  Another frame picture.

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Mocking up the ROV case before it is welded by the ME team.

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The AC to DC converter that will be used for all power systems. This will be implemented on the surface and was supplied by TDK-Lambda.

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The camera system that allows for the operator to see what is down in the depths and can also see in the infrared wavelengths.

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The camera capture card system that will be on the surface. The left black box is a video balun, the connector goes from a BNC to RCA and then finally into the capture card that will allow for the computer to read and record the video for later preview.

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The frame is completed, next up is motor thrusters and electronics.

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The arm, made out of heavy duty aluminum.

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Another arm picture. This is the business end of the deal and will be used for clamping on a carabiner to help bring the lost property up to the surface. Note: The duct tape is only for the conceptual design. The final product will have welds and have greater strength

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Aaron looking over the fitting of the box pieces on the frame.

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The main surface box that houses the controller, power box, and computer and is made out of an old suitcase.

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The camera housing, this will be our eye into the depths. Made out of Delren and Polycarbonate clear plastic.

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The ROV in all of it’s glory. Next up is the power and electronics integration. But first our first buoyancy and waterproof tests.

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The first pool test. Chris is in the pool, while Aaron and Scott look on and anticipating the first “feet wet” experiment, boyancy.

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The ROV sinks like a rock, but.......


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After adding some boyancy, it floats, and floats well. In future testing there will be a system to add or subtract ballast.

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The assembly before a pool test.

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A pool test. This shows how well the ROV sits in the water. Only one leak in the frame but the box and other components stayed dry. Next portion is to put all the electronics inside and operate the motors while in the pool.

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The ROV completed and at the pool. All systems are powered up and ready to go.

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Aaron Jutila and Scott Pickering doing final adjustments to the camera system.



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The ROV working under water.

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The Complete ROV system.

Contact Information

If there are any errors or want more information on this project, feel free to contact me at:

scott.pickering1@msu.montana.edu

(Due to the large amount of spam please copy and paste the e-mail address. Thank You)

Contributors

If there are any applications that require these parts please support these companies because they believe in education and are willing to give to schools and to school projects. Thank you for your donations.

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