Explorer submarine... - Explores (TV, robot hands) underwater

[mountains19]

Dear folks,

Hi! I am thinking about making a R/C submarine that will explore underwater stuff, like bottoms of bays, etc. It will use a TV camera (and maybe a cable for the camera), robotic arms that can pick up objects, and its design will be totally different from a regular submarine.
It will not look like a nuclear sub, but probably more like the sub Alvin, or a saucer shape.

It will dive to a maximum depth of 100 feet, so it will have to be made of pressure-resistant material, and have a good pressure-resistant shape.
It will be no larger than 3 feet in any dimension.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks!

[koeze]

R/c might be a problem

R/c might be a problem as the signal only penetrates about 6 feet in best water conditions. You might wnat to consider an umbilical cord for commands and feedback.

Another option would be the use of acoustic signals to give the sub it's commands. If you then use an onboard means of storage for the video you can skip the cables all together.

Just a few initial thoughts

EJK

[mb1754]

You might want to purchase

You might want to purchase the book]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[seahawk]

I bought a copy of

I bought a copy of the "Build your own Underwater Robot" book a couple weeks ago. I'll have to build one of them soon. They have plans for two different ROVs in the book. Very nice for getting the basics of ROVing. Tim Smalley has built one of the designs and modified it to carry a camera, he has pictures of it on his website

[wayne frey]

I am building one of

I am building one of the ROV projects on that link.It should be ready for the SubRon 5 run for next year so we can get video images of the boats on manuvers.They do not have ANY lift abilities,as they are rigged to be neutrally bouyant.I am thinking maybe another release-type tether attached to a snare,claw,or something to retrive treasures or maybe a jennifer-project kind of recovery of a stray submarine.But simplicity is paramount.
I have the frame together,with "T" fittings at the lower front of the frame so I can add the attachment rig later.
It happens that Supercircuits,which offers a free catalog full of way-cool small cameras,is only 45 minutes from my house.In the near future,I am going up there to get a camera rig,and to talk to them about rigs for the ROV and possiblities for periscope and sail mounted cameras.They offer underwater cameras right now that could be adapted we to the ROV.
One more thing I will add will be some kind of lights just behind the camera for murky or dark water.
It is not a hard,or expensive project.
Wayne

[tmsmalley]

I have been trying to

I have been trying to get the umbilical so it is as close to neutral bouyancy as possible. This is important because the ROV is trimmed so it just barely floats at the surface. Otherwise you have to keep the down thruster activated all the time.

I tried fishing bobbers on the cable but they are a little too expensive so I am now trying foam pipe insulation.

[wayne frey]

Tim,
Yours is a working model.What

Tim,
Yours is a working model.What do you think about mounting some kind of small lights? In you experiance,is it worth it maybe?Could be a good excuse to get a girl out to the water at night.....

[tmsmalley]

I haven't tried taking it

I haven't tried taking it out at night. I have a hard enough time keeping track of all the wires and adapters, etc. in broad daylight.

However I used to do some night time scuba diving u/w photography and learned that if you do use lights on your camera, be sure to put them on arms out and at an angle in. It will cut down on the amount of backscatter you get from turbidity.

[wayne frey]

Good idea on the lights.I

Good idea on the lights.I will figure that in as well.
Now,how to build a claw or retrival system.Since the ROV cannot lift.A claw.hook,or snare would have to be detacable so one could reel up the treasure(or downed sub)on a diffrent line.There are lots of heavy rated fishing line out there that could work.
Any ideas?