The "Total System" Approach to Motion Compensation

Tethered vehicle systems of the present and future must be designed as a TOTAL SYSTEM. The vehicle, cable, handling system, motion compensator and winch must be an integrated package. The old adage of bigger is better, just does not apply. It is evident that existing motion compensated cranes are ideally suited to the majority of tethered applications, if cable size and weight are limited. While new and bigger motion compensation systems could be built, it is obvious that the potential of existing systems has yet to be fully realized. The surface sub-systems should be sized to the vehicle weight, thus cable assemblies must be kept light. Only through a TOTAL SYSTEM approach can the full potential of tethered systems be realized. The final result is a less expensive, more reliable, and higher performance system with greater flexibility.