Development of the subsea robot ANNE (autonomous pneumatic nautical explorer)

Woolgar, Reeni Catherine (1999) Development of the subsea robot ANNE (autonomous pneumatic nautical explorer). Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (17MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

In 1997, a small drifter subsea robot known as NO MAD was developed at Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN). This robot uses a simple air-water ballast tank for depth control. Although NO MAD is modular in construction, it does not provide easy assembly as all of the structural components are either bolted or screwed and the majority of the electrical components are hard-wired. It uses five float switches equally spaced vertically in the ballast tank to control the level of water in the ballast tank. Unfortunately, this control strategy does not provide adequate depth control. -- This thesis describes the development of a more robust version of NO MAD known as the Autonomous Pneumatic Nautical Explorer (ANNE). ANNE is extremely modular in design and complete assembly requires thirty minutes. Components are locked together using a simple twist mechanism and suction is used to close the instrumentation boxes. To improve the control strategy, ANNE uses an accelerometer to determine whether it is over or under buoyant which controls the amount of flow into and out of the ballast tank. With these modifications, tests in a deep tank at the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, MUN, illustrated that ANNE achieved adequate depth control. -- Although ANNE was developed for educational purposes, it has potential for industrial benefits as ANNE could be placed in the ocean upstream of a region of interest. It would be carried by the local current and used for either measurements at preset depths or seabed exploration.

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