Development of a new underwater disk robot

This paper describes an analysis on architecture and control system of a new disk-shaped underwater robot entitled an underwater disk robot (UDR) which has six degrees of freedom (DOF) motion. The UDR has three symmetrical thrusters disposed around the perimeter of a circular chassis, each facing 120 degrees apart from the others. With this disposition, the vehicle has omnidirectional manoeuvrability without heading motion. Also, the motion of the disk-shaped UDR can be less affected by side disturbances with a robust and swift motion along any directions. The mechanical design of the UDR and the dynamics analysis including actuator mechanics were presented. Experiments on tilt and depth control were performed on the developed UDR by applying PID controller, and results were presented.