A Robotic Experimental Setup with a Stewart Platform to Emulate Underwater Vehicle-Manipulator Systems

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Ocean Engineering
• Control Systems

Background:

• Underwater vehicle-manipulator systems (UVMS) are crucial for marine operations.
• Real-world experimentation with UVMS is challenging due to cost, accessibility, and environmental factors.
• Developing robust control strategies for UVMS requires extensive testing and data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel hardware-based experimental robotic setup emulating an underwater vehicle-manipulator system (UVMS).
• To enable efficient development and testing of control techniques for UVMS in a controlled dry-lab environment.
• To facilitate rapid and numerous experiments, overcoming limitations of traditional underwater testing.

Main Methods:

• A KUKA IIWA14 robotic manipulator mounted on a Stewart Platform forms the core of the emulator.
• A force/torque sensor at the end-effector measures interaction forces.
• Realistic underwater vehicle movements and environmental factors (water currents, dynamic coupling) are simulated and transferred to the physical setup.

Main Results:

• The experimental setup successfully emulates UVMS dynamics and interactions.
• The emulator allows for real-time or recorded underwater vehicle movements.
• Simulated environmental effects are integrated into the physical experimental environment.

Conclusions:

• The developed robotic emulator provides a versatile platform for studying UVMS control techniques.
• This dry-lab approach significantly reduces the complexity and cost associated with underwater robotics research.
• The setup is valuable for controller development, particularly for contact management in UVMS applications.