Design of flying eye remotely operated vehicle for deep water surveillance

Abstract

Offshore petroleum reserves have been discovered in depths approaching 3050 m (10000 ft) in the Gulf of Mexico. Therefore, there is a need for the design of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and a launch and recovery system for the vehicle that is capable of working in this water depth. The ROV is an observational vehicle used to observe underwater systems and operations. The design criteria is 3050 m (10000 ft) depth, Gulf of Mexico, free swimming, tethered, able to cut 0.64 cm (0.25 in) steel cable, capable of lifting 22.7 kg (50 lb), and a 1.04 m/s (2 kt) forward speed, 5.2 m/s (1 kt) lateral speed, 5.2 m/s (1 kt) vertical speed. The ROV must be capable of being launched in a sea state 4, recovered in a sea state 5, shipped on one truck without permit, and the launch system must provide a 2.4 m (8 ft) clearance from the ROV to the side of the support ship.