Indian J.Sci.Res.

1(2) : 895-899, 2014

ISSN:2250-0138(Online)
ISSN : 0976-2876 (Print)

DEVELOPMENT OF A FOUR-DOF LABORATORY UNDERWATER MANIPULATOR FOR USING

IN TOWING TANK

HAMED SHEIKHBAHAEE1a, AMIR MOSTASHFIb, MOJTABA MADHKHANc AND MOSTAFA

ESMAELEANd

a
Institute of Materials and Energy, Iranian Space Research Center, Isfahan, Iran
bcd
Subsea Research & Development Center, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

ABSTRACT
This paper is an attempt to describe briefly the method of design, manufacture and test of a laboratory underwater manipulator that used in
the towing tank of hydrodynamic laboratory. The purpose of design and manufacture of this manipulator is to create a comprehensive
system of research and training for researchers and students working in the field of subsea research. This manipulator has four degrees of
freedom and is installed on the towing tank trolley in the hydrodynamic laboratory. This structure has two links with rotational movement
and a set of wrist and grip movement. The movement is produced by four electrical motor that installed in the body of the manipulator. The
manipulator is controlled by a hand-held control panel from behind the observation window (Plexiglas window). This device is able to move
objects weighing up to 1 kg in the water. Most of commercial underwater manipulators use hydraulic and pneumatic power to move their
links and therefore using electrical motor in this device is the kind of innovation because this increases mobility, control and ease of
troubleshooting and maintenance. Furthermore, open design of the upper link reduces weight and the drag force of the water on the
manipulator.

KEYWORDS: Underwater Manipulator, 4 – Dof , Subsea Research , Manual Control , Towing Tank

In recent years, robots have played a very effective role in
various fields from industries to the space (Pedersen , 2003).
Robots need mechanical arm in order to change and effect on
objects (Crane & Duffy, 1998).The most important types of
robotic arms that are used in marine industry and subsea
research are underwater manipulators. Underwater robots have
an undeniable role in the complex and difficult subsea
missions while divers are not able to do these tasks in the
harsh environment of deep water (Yuh, 2000). These
manipulators are used widely with other underwater robots
like ROVs and AUVs in the excavation and inspection
operations, subsea installation support, searching for lost
objects , sea-floor sampling, holding and tracking cables or
wires and so forth (Whitcomb, 2000). The selection and
completion of the mechanical arm is very complicated and
designer should consider many points. In the selection of
mechanical arms, it is very important to choose the simplest
design that is able to do its duty at the optimal time. Robot
design complexity while increasing capability and
performance may cause some problems in guiding, the
assurance, accuracy and also repair and maintenance.The
number and types of degrees of freedom required, location,
type of controller, the area of the workspace, the maximum
and minimum reach points, type and structure of robotic arm
control are the cases that designer should consider.Among
commercial underwater manipulators, commercial
manipulator from companies such as Schilling Robotics (Jun
et al., 2008) and eca HYTEC (Prats et al., 2012) were
investigated and considered. Some laboratory underwater
manipulator made for scientific purposes were studied such as
MARIS 7080 made by ANSALDO company (Kim et al.,
2002) , (Marani et al., 2003) and 3-DOF underwater
manipulator from School of Naval Architecture and Ocean
Engineering (Zuyao et al., 2011) and deep ocean electrical
driven manipulator from College of Navy and Ship Science
and Engineering (Xu et al., 2010). In addition, previous
underwater manipulators which were made in Subsea
Research & Development Center of Isfahan University of
Technology such as underwater manipulator Kavosh-4 (Fig. 1)
and underwater mechanical arm mounted on the ROV
Kavosh-6 (Fig. 2), were studied. Movement mechanism and
control system of these robotic arms due to their proper
performance and simple structure for use in underwater
manipulator, were investigated.

__________________________________
1
Corresponding author
 Figure 1. Underwater manipulator Kavosh-4
Figure 2. Underwater mechanical arm mounted on the ROV
Kavosh-6
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
To improve the capability and performance of hydrodynamic
laboratory (towing tank), designing and manufacturing of a
laboratory underwater manipulator that can hold and move
models in the water,was considered.The following
manipulator in the middle of the width of towing tank and in
the water on a frame attached to the trolley has been
installed(Fig. 3).Trolley located on the towing tank, is capable
of carrying four people and it has a speed of at least 0.05
meters per second and a maximum of 6 meters per second but
this speed can be increased to 8 meters per second in special
circumstances.
Figure 3. Trolley and underwater manipulator mounted on the
frame
Towing tank is 108 meters in length, 3 meters in width and an
average of 2.2 meters in depth. It was built in a 1600 square
meter laboratory. Furthermore, the towing tank has a wide
variety of equipment and facilities such as wedge-shaped
wavemaker, wave absorber, model holding and oscillator
system, observation window, closed circuit cameras, radio
modem system, balancer with six degrees of freedom, etc.
This towing tank for scientific research in the fields of subsea
research, hydrodynamic, and also testing of submerged models
(submarines, AUVs, ROVs, torpedoes, etc.) has been
Indian J.Sci.Res.1(2) : 895-899, 2014
specialized.This research center is unique in having the
facilities mentioned in Iran and the Middle East.
Mechanical arm mentioned in this paper (Fig. 4), has four
degrees of freedom, two of these degrees of freedom are
related to rotational movements of upper and lower links in the
vertical plan and other two degrees of freedom is related to
wrist movement on own axis and movement of gripper.
Figure 4. Overall view of underwater manipulator and its
components
1.upper motor 2.base flange 3.upper link 4.space bars 5.wrist
motor 6.lower motor 7.lower link and grip motor 8.gripper
The manipulator is 1406 mm in length and 610 mm in width
and 235 mm in height. Maximum length of arm is 1276 mm
(edge of the gripper jaws to the upper motor shaft axis) and
minimum reach (retracted mode) is 944 mm in length (Fig. 5).
Figure 5. Maximum and minimum reach (retracted and
extended) and reachable workspace
The upper motor is able to rotate upper link 180 degrees and
lower motor is able to rotate lower link 90 degrees. The range
of wrist rotation is 180 degrees on its axis in two sides and the
maximum opening of gripper jaws is up to 40 degrees for each
jaw (Fig. 6).
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Figure 6. The rotation range of the upper and lower motor
This manipulator is made of Stainless Steel and Aluminum.
Aluminum was used for the body of manipulator and Stainless
Steel was used for components that were affected by the force.
Table 1. Manipulator arm specifications
Control method
Number of functions
Materials of construction
Maximum operating depth (m)
Dimension (mm)
Maximum reach (Extended) (mm)
Minimum reach (Retracted) (mm)
Weight in air (Kg)
Weight in water (Kg)
Maximum gripper opening (mm)
Grip force (N)
Payload (Kg)
Movement mechanism of upper and lower links
This robotic arm is made of two links including upper link and
lower link. Motor of wrist motion and motor of grip
movement are located inside the lower link and this link is
sealed properly. Upper link is designed in open design and two
pieces which are joined together by a set of space bars. This
design decreases the drag force of water current and the
weight of manipulator. The open design of the upper link
simplifies assembly, disassembly, fault detection and
maintenance.
An AC motor with 60 Watt power is installed on upper link to
rotate upper link and an AC motor with 15 Watt power is used
for rotation of lower link. The mentioned motors are installed
Indian J.Sci.Res.1(2) : 895-899, 2014
The control of manipulator is manual by a hand-held control
panel from behind the observation window (Plexiglas
window). Payload calculated in the design of the robotic arm,
is 1 kg in the water. The estimated weight of arm in design
was 29 kg in air and the final weight of the arm
(manufactured) was 33 kg in air. However, the weight of the
arm in the water is reduced to 19 kg. The operating depth is up
to 20 m for this manipulator. The maximum opening of
gripper jaws is 200 mm and grip force is equal to 120 N. This
robotic arm was modeled by CATIA V.5 software and final
workshop drawings were obtained by Mechanical Desktop
software from CAD model and finally the manipulator was
made in the prototyping workshop of Subsea Research &
Development Center and tested in the towing tank in
hydrodynamic laboratory. Manipulator arm specifications
have been shown in Table1.
Manual Control
4
Aluminium and Stainless Steel
20
1406*610*235
1276
944
33
19
200
120
1
the opposite side of each other for weight balancing and
distance from each shaft axis is 600 mm. For rotating upper
link, the upper motor shaft is fixed and motor rotates itself and
then the power transmits to upper link and finally this
mechanism causes the rotation of the upper link. This
electrical motor is composed of two gearboxes with a ratio of
500 to 1 and these gearboxes reduce output speed from 1450
rpm to 2.9 rpm. The output torque is 197.5 Nm for this motor
and this torque is calculated by output power and output
speed. Stainless Steel bearing with rubber seal is used for
proper rotation of motor shaft in the water. The body of upper
link is made of Aluminum except components which affected
by force and therefore these components are made of Stainless
Steel. Table 2 shows the design specifications of upper motor.
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Indian J.Sci.Res.1(2) : 895-899, 2014
ISSN:2250-0138(Online)
ISSN : 0976-2876 (Print)

Table 2. Design specifications of upper motor

Output power (W) 60
Weight (Kg) 3.2
Output speed (rpm) 2.9
Output torque (Nm) 197.5
Torque required to overcome the weight (Nm) 115.6
Torque required to overcome the drag force in water (Nm) 3
Torque of upward buoyancy force (Nm) 58.8
Safety factor in torque estimation in air 1.7
Safety factor in torque estimation in water 3.3

Components of the wrist and grip movements are located in and this rotation supports by special rotational seals. The
lower link and this link is sealed properly. This link is lower motor uses two gearboxes with a ratio of 500 to 1 and
designed as a hollow cylinder for reducing drag force of water. these gearboxes reduce output speed from 1450 rpm to 2.9
The body of lower link is made of Aluminum for weight rpm.The output torque is equal to 49.3 Nm for this motor and
reduction except components which affected by force so these this torque is calculated by output power and output speed.
components are made of Stainless Steel. An AC motor with 15 Furthermore, the proper rotation range to cover all workspace
Watt power rotates the lower link by force transmitting for lower motor is considered 90 degrees.Table 3 shows the
through motor shaft and key. This motor uses a brake system design specifications of lower motor.
to stand in a fixed position. The lower link rotates 90 degrees
Table 3. Design specifications of lower motor
Output power (W) 15
Weight (Kg) 2
Output speed (rpm) 2.9
Output torque (Nm) 49.3
Torque required to overcome the weight (Nm) 22.8
Torque required to overcome the drag force in water (Nm) 0.1
Torque of upward buoyancy force (Nm) 11.1
Safety factor in torque estimation in air 2
Safety factor in torque estimation in water 4
electrical motor has a voltage of 12 V and output speed is
equal to 75 rpm and output torque is 1 Nm. This motor uses a
Movement mechanism of wrist and gripper jaws
ball screw for translating rotational motion to linear motion
Wrist movement is provided in underwater mechanical arm by and by a special mechanical mechanism, required force for
a DC motor with a voltage of 12 V. This motor has an output opening and closing the jaws of the gripper is provided. The
speed of 7.2 rpm and output torque is equal to 5 Nm. The diameter of ball screw rod is 12 mm and pitch is 4 mm and
range of wrist rotation is equal to 180 degrees in two sides and this ball screw provides linear reciprocating motion in the
this rotation provides rotational movement of gripper jaws on range of 20 mm. The reciprocating motion of ball screw
their axis. The mechanism of wrist rotation is provided by two provides required power for opening gripper jaws up to 40
plates and these plates are connected together by four steel degrees for each jaw.
bars (guide bars) and a deep groove ball bearing and anangular
contact bearing are used in two sides of these plates. This
manipulator uses two similar gripper jaws for holding objects Control system
in the water and each jaw (left and right) is made of
As earlier mentioned,the control of manipulator is manual by a
Aluminum and the contact surface of each jaw is rough for
hand-held control panel (Fig. 7) from behind the observation
increasing friction between surface of jaw and object. The
window (Plexiglas window). The manipulator is controlled by
gripper jaws have both flat and curved surfaces and they are
turning off and on (ON/OFF) of electrical motors and by
able to catch and hold objects with flat and curved surfaces. A
reversing the direction of motors rotation. To limit the range
DC motor is used for opening and closing gripper jaws. This
__________________________________
1
Corresponding author
of motion of movement mechanisms, including upper and
lower motors, the motor of the wrist and gripper motor, micro
switches are used.
Figure 7. Hand-held control panel
This panel includes two joysticks, an on-off switch, and a
signal light. The on-off switch is used for turning on and off of
the whole system of manipulator. If on-off key on control
panel is turned on and the system is connected to voltage of
220 volt AC, input signal light will be turned on, otherwise it
will remain in the off state. Both two joysticks are 4-way
joysticks and each joystick is used for controlling of two
motors (four movements). By using the joystick in the certain
direction, the related motor starts to rotate until the joystick is
in the neutral position, or is stopped by limit switch.
Testing of underwater manipulator
Ultimately, after designing and modeling of manipulator in 3D
by CATIA V.5 software, final workshop drawings were
obtained by Mechanical Desktop software from CAD model
and the manipulator was made in the prototyping workshop of
Subsea Research & Development Center and after adding a
few minor changes, it was installed on a frame attached to the
trolley. The manipulator was taken to the towing tank for
testing (Fig. 8) in the hydrodynamic laboratory afterwards.
CONCLUSION
This robotic arm has been designed in such a way that the
system is capable of improvement and development. Possible
future developments can include adding a degree of rotational
freedom along the axis of the base flange for rotating whole
manipulator with rotation angle of 360 degrees, or adding a
transportation system across the towing tank and also a system
to take the whole body of manipulator to the depth of towing
tank to access to the floor.
Most of commercial underwater manipulator use hydraulic
and pneumatic power to move their links and therefore using
electrical motor for movement of links is the kind of
innovation that this increases mobility, control and ease of
Indian J.Sci.Res.1(2) : 895-899, 2014
Figure 8. Testing of underwater manipulator in the towing
tank
During the test, mechanics and control of manipulator was
checked and reachable workspace was investigated. The
capability of gripper jaws in holding and moving of objects
with different shapes and weights, was investigated. After
testing and inspection of manipulator, test results were
reviewed and the accuracy of manipulator performance was
proved. The robotic arm was taken back to the workshop for
painting to prevent corrosion and rusting and finally the
manipulator was painted by multi-layer yellow color (to
distinguish better in the water) (Fig. 9).
Figure 9. Laboratory manipulator after painting with hand-
held control panel
troubleshooting and maintenance. Using electrical motor
makes no requirement of pumping systems, compressed air
and oil, which reduces the overall weight of the system and
increases the ability of using it anywhere.
The open design of the upper link reduces weight and the drag
force of the water on the body of robotic arm and also
simplifies assembly,disassembly and troubleshooting and
maintenance and finally this design has increased the beauty
of manipulator as an industrial and research equipment.
Open and interchangeable design of gripper jaws increases the
capability of catching and holding objects with a wide variety
of shapes and reduces the disturbance effect of water on the
object tested.
The design of the arm is in such a way that the system can also
move objects on land. This manipulator is able to lift up
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objects to 1 to 2 Kg on land and this feature allows dual use of
manipulator on land (for example robotic and control
laboratory in universities and research centers) and in the
water.
According to the experience gained in the design of this
underwater manipulator, a smaller model can be designed and
used in ROVs with a video camera or similar manipulators can
be used in other industries such as automotive industry by
programming and automation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Sincerely thanks to employees of Subsea Research &
Development Center for the cooperation in the project.
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