The eyeball ROV: Design and control of a spherical underwater vehicle steered by an internal eccentric mass

A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) is developed for use in the inspection of underwater structures in hazardous environments. The vehicle presented can change orientation like an eyeball using a novel gimbal mechanism for moving an internal eccentric mass. Combined with a pair of thrusters, the Eyeball ROV can move in any direction with non-holonomic constraints. In this paper the design concept is presented first, followed by dynamic and hydrodynamic analysis. Due to poor open loop stability characteristics, stability a ugmentation is implemented using onboard sensors and was de signed and tested in simulation. A physical proof-of-concept prototype is also presented.