This paper details the evolution and design of a force balanced remotely operated vehicle intended for use in the offshore industry. This vehicle involves a symmetrical shape powered in such a way as to be able to hold position and function in currents regardless of their direction relative to the vehicle itself. Its standard TV and 35mm still cameras are intended for platform inspection and numerous options allow performance of a variety of tasks.
The paper will cover initial research, component selection and testing, system goals and designs, field testing and evaluation, eventual end use. Comparisons with other systems will highlight areas of value to end users as well as areas of limitation. In-use photographs will accompany the paper to illustrate the success of the program.
The present Model RPV-430 force balanced- thruster remote operated vehicle is a user-designed submersible having a history with its beginnings in a high school science project in 1969 and extending through seven vehicles used both as R&D platforms and operational submersible in U.S. waters, the North Sea and the Arctic.
In 1969, the author designed and built, as a result of an interest in oceanography, a Remote Controlled Oceanographic Research Probe (RECORP-I). He was assisted in this by various sponsoring companies (found in the Thomas Register) from which he obtained, among other items, a Plexiglas housing sphere and a T.V. acoustic remote control unit. His father also helped with some machining. RECORP-I (Figure 1) was battery-powered and a free vehicle, remotely controlled through low frequency electrical signals generated using an ultrasonic T.V. controller unit. This same low frequency electric field carried slo-scan T.V. information from the vehicle to the controller. Successful operation was obtained at ranges up to fifty feet, the limiting depth of the test lake in Indiana.
Since the goal was to build a deep ocean oceanographic probe, RECORP-II (Figure 2), a winged-stabilized, towed vehicle was next. This was pneumatically controlled in roll and pitch, had up and down looking sonar (the latter controlling height above the bottom), and supported lights and a high-resolution T.V. camera. This operated successfully but again only to 50 feet, the limitation of the local "ocean".
Then, in 1972, after the author spent three years working in the oil fields, RECORP-III (Figure 3), a tethered remote (rather than towed) vehicle, was designed to do pipeline inspection. This was built and operated at about the same time as the other pioneer inspection vehicles, TROVE-I and RCV-125 in the U.S. and CONSUB-I in the North Sea. RECORP-III resulted in a two and a half year project which included designing the vehicle, the control van and a launch and recovery system. This system was trial tested in 1975-1976 off Panama City, Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico oil fields. It was found to be restricted to fore and aft motion and had no lateral movement capability. This was because, as for others designed at this time, the U.S.
