SeaDrone: A modular and reconfigurable underwater robot for task optimization

SeaDrone^TM is a underwater robotic system that offers a solution to many subsea tasks such as underwater exploration, manipulation, and construction. There continues to be a growing need for underwater robotic systems such as remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). Most current underwater robotic vehicles are designed and optimized under a single working configuration, meaning that their thrusters are rigidly attached which consequently results in a fixed dynamic force performance. A more versatile underwater vehicle would permit for the dynamic optimization of thruster placement based on the task performed. This paper presents a task-oriented control framework to optimize task redundancy in the robot SeaDrone^TM and presents design challenges associated with a reconfigurable underwater robot.