Multisensorial control and supervision of autonomous, mobile underwater robots

The automatic execution of underwater tasks like cleaning, inspecting, cutting and welding at production platforms or gas and oil pipelines requires manipulators with sophisticated control systems. Flexibility and adaptive behaviour are basic characteristics of autonomous systems, which can also be described as information processing systems, able to complete a given task even under the influence of initially unknown environmental conditions. After a short summary of the functions of the control system this contribution presents the concept of the multisensor system of an Autonomous Mobile Underwater Robot (AMUR).<>