Design and Control of a Cooperative System of an Autonomous Surface Vehicle and a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ASV-ROV)

Marine robotics plays a fundamental role in executing various underwater complex missions. In this scenario tethered Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) offer benefits such as efficient data transmission and strong physical connection for emergency cases, but their motion is confined by the length of the tether. This study addresses the issue of extending the range of the ROV by implementing a new control strategy cooperating with an Autonoumous Surface Vehicle (ASV). The proposed system ASV-ROV confronts two main challenges: the constrained movement of the ROV and the risk of cable entanglement. Therefore, a new control system is built to provide the ROV a smooth motion and avoid situations that are likely to generate cable entanglements. The new control system enables the ASV to align and to keep a certain distance from the ROV, regulating at the same time the released cable length in the water. The paper addresses the design of ASV-ROV cooperative system, the modelling of each vehicle, the control strategy, and simulation results. Future work research is also outlined at the end.