Design of an ROV to Compete in the 5th Annual MATE ROV Competition and Beyond

Since 2002, the Marine Advanced Technology Center (MATE) has sponsored a nation-wide remotely operated vehicle (ROV) competition. This year´s competition consisted of two mission tasks based on ocean observing systems, to be completed in less than 30 minutes at a depth of 12.2 meters. Taking a different approach from previous years, the MIT ROV team designed our main ROV, MTHR, not only to compete in the MATE competition, but also to be used afterwards for both didactic and practical purposes. To this end, the team did not design MTHR specifically for the competition, but instead set out to design a robust ROV that was capable of competing in the MATE competition. The team set priorities on keeping MTHR easy to operate and the sub-systems modular so that they could be improved or expanded upon, allowing MTHR to act as a test bed for new technology in the future. On top of this, the team also placed size constraints, in order to keep it maneuverable and easy to transport, and monetary constraints, in order to keep it affordable. These design considerations led our team to build a small, battery-powered ROV that operates off a single strand of passively spooling fiber optic cable. MTHR is equipped with team-designed countrarotating propellers and a flexible control system. Though a spatially controlled, 5 degree-of-freedom manipulator was designed and built for the ROV, it was not ready to integrate in time for the competition so a simpler gripper was installed. In addition to MTHR, a second ROV, JR, was built to act as a flying-eye to aid in navigation during the competition. Working together, these two ROVs create a powerful system capable of completing complex tasks and providing a valuable research and teaching platform