Variable Ballast Mechanism for Depth Positioning of a Spherical Underwater Robot Vehicle

Abstract

A spherical shape of a submerged body with closed frame provides uniform drag at all direction along its surface. In this chapter, the shape of a spherical URV that is used in this book-chapter is presented. The vertical motion equation is also derived. The forces that affect the dynamics of the system are also described. In order to control vertical motion due to control depth position of the URV, a variable ballast mechanism is used. This mechanism controls the weight of URV’s body. This chapter also presents detail mechanism of the variable ballast system and describes detail of the used parts and design of the mechanism. Kinematic and dynamic model of the variable ballast system are also derived.