A Review of Recent Research on Supervisory Control of Deep Ocean Robotic Vehicles and Manipulators

Abstract

This paper reviews recent research in the MIT Man-Machine Systems Laboratory on the use of computer aiding to a human operator in both issuing commands to and feedback sensing and display from a semi-intelligent deep ocean vehicle/manipulator. The motivation for such systems is to replace human divers in very deep and extensive inspection and work operations, which tend to be very hazardous and costly. However there are advantages to retaining the human operator as a supervisory controller, i.e., where an operator, safe on the ocean surface, intermittently communicates to a remote vehicle's computer the appropriate subgoal's and contingency information, and the computer interprets and executes the commands with the help of the vehicles own sensors.