Development of a ROV for visual inspection of harbor structures

Abstract

Underwater harbor structures should be inspected regularly for safety problem. Conventional inspection methods which are performed by divers have several limitations including safety and health problem of divers. This paper presents development of a ROV and experimental results for visual inspection of harbor structures. The ROV is equipped with visual systems for inspection tasks, navigation system and thrusters. The ROV is operated manually to approach to target structures and acquires high quality images for inspection. A basin test and a sea trial were conducted to verify the performance of developed ROV.