Comparative study on underwater manipulation methods for valve-turning operation

Abstract

The need for development of underwater vehicle-manipulator systems (UVMS) is on the rise owing to the increased requirement for underwater operations. To perform handle valve turning task, which is important task of underwater operation, three underwater manipulation methods can be considered. Single- and dual-arm manipulation methods comprise the first two types. The dual-arm manipulation requires the turning operation to be performed by grabbing two points on the valve handle. The third method is also of the dual-arm type with one arm grabbing a point on the valve handle while the other clamping onto a point located in the surrounding environment; for example, underwater pipes. Kinematic and dynamic models were derived for each case, and a dynamic simulation involving disturbances were performed with valve-turning. Results verify that especially under the existence of disturbances, the dual-arm manipulation method involving holding onto the environment is superior in performance and reliability compared to the other two methods. Therefore, this paper proves the advantages of grabbing environments with simulation results in UVMS.