Development of Manipulation Purpose Small Agent Vehicle Using Momentum Gyro Wheel

We conducted efficient underwater attitude maintaining device that can have capable of withstanding currents and disturbances. We devised an agent vehicle system for manipulation. It has a role to perform its own task by connecting with AUV with winch system. However, it is difficult to precisely control the attitude because of its small size and mass, which are highly influenced by the surroundings. Therefore, we developed an underwater momentum gyro wheel system using the law of conservation of angular momentum, one of the basic laws of physics. After that, it was attached to the experimental small agent and its attitude maintenance ability was evaluated. As a result, the system was able to successfully maintain attitude at sea.

I. Introduction

The underwater vehicle observes a lot of information, such as exploring the resources, measuring water quality, acquiring video and image, and performing various physical works [1]. There are observational missions such as creating a topographic map of underwater, exploring resources, and physical missions such as bringing out the target objects on the sea floor or assembling plumbings.