Modeling and control of the IES project ROV

This paper describes the modeling and control of a Remotely Operate Vehicle (ROV), as part of the effort performed in the context of the Inspection of Underwater Structures (IES) project. The main objective of IES is the implementation of a ROV-based system for the inspection of underwater structures. The IES project is a 3 yearlong effort funded by the Portuguese R&D program Praxis XXI. After addressing the complete model, including the body model and the thruster model, we present the design of a nonlinear controller based on the Sliding Modes methodology, which allow the vehicle to move according to the application requirements. PID controllers were also used in order to compare both performances.