A Novel Design of Mobile Robotic System for Opening and Transitioning Through a Watertight Ship Door

Abstract

Recent offshore drilling activities have dramatically bloomed oil and gas production. Due to extreme weather, such as hurricanes and tsunamis, offshore oil platforms may need to be constantly monitored in case of unexpected dangers. Using robots to monitor and prevent these dangerous situations is a cost-effective and safer solution compared to any human involvement. However, one major drawback for robotic intervention is the ability of the robot to operate water tight ship doors designed for marina facilities. Current studies have been focused on robots manipulating normal doors in people's daily life. However their presented methodology may not be suitable for opening heavy watertight ship doors since they have a special locking structure which needs much larger torque to open. This study explores the possibility of opening heavy watertight ship doors with an ordinary mobile robot under remote control. Given the watertight ship door’s unique structure, a door opening tool with a pawl mechanism is designed for a mobile robot, which consists of a robotic arm and a wheeled platform, to complete the task. Experimental results have shown that the mobile robot can operate the tool to open the door and transition through the door.