SeaMaster: an ROV-manipulator system simulator

In the absence of fully autonomous robots, manipulators operated by a person at a distance are used to carry out tasks in remote and/or hostile environments. SeaMaster software upgrades the human-machine interface of telemanipulators by letting operators control the actual and simulated manipulators either separately or simultaneously. It includes a data-driven control mode. In contrast to direct teleoperation, where the operator directly controls the telemanipulator and uses only video displays for feedback, the computer offers a means of automatically generating joint commands and uncoupling undesired motions of the ROV. The paper describes how the SeaMaster project achieved these goals through computer simulation. The simulator was designed to study the complex motions of an underwater remotely operated vehicle-manipulator system