ToNiC a Telerobotic Navigation and Control System for ROVs

This paper describes a Telerobotic Navigation and Control System (ToNiC) being developed in the Research and Technology Division to support British Gas Subsea engineering activities. In a drive to reduce operating expenditure and improve safety the oil and gas industry is making increasing use of remotely operated vehicles (ROV) for subsea engineering tasks. British Gas operates in particularly hostile environments with very low visibility, high tidal currents and shallow water. Traditionally ROVs are piloted by highly skilled individuals who merge a wide variety of information which may be low quality and noisy. This information is usually presented as a cluster of video monitors. The research programme has focused on developing equipment for ROV navigation and control which is based on virtual reality integrated with a multipurpose display