Ship hull inspection using a small underwater robot with a mechanical contact mechanism

This paper presents ship hull inspection using a small underwater robot with a mechanical contact mechanism. We propose a mechanical contact approach in order to conduct ship hull inspection, and develop a contact mechanism, hand-eye vision system, and stereo camera system. The proposed contact mechanism enhances the position and orientation keeping performance of small underwater robots. The developed hand-eye system and stereo camera system provide fine and detailed vision information for inspection. In this paper, we numerically analyze the position and orientation keeping performance of a small underwater robot with a mechanical contact mechanism, and conduct fundamental experiments in a test tank. Additionally, we inspect a ship´s hull in a port as a field experiment.