Development of a low cost underwater manipulator robot integrated with SimMechanics 3D animation

This paper presents the development of underwater manipulator robot using commercial underwater servo. The proposed underwater manipulator system consists of Arduino MEGA microcontroller position control joystick 3 DOF underwater manipulator and SimMechanics 3D Animation. The 3D Animation in the SimMechanicsis is utilized to visualize orientation of manipulator in the computer. Open loop control algorithm is embedded into Arduino MEGA using Simulink Support Package for Arduino Hardware. The kinematics of manipulator is studied using forward kinematics and inverse kinematics to investigate the motion of manipulator in the air. The forward kinematics is computed using mathematical approach based on D-H parameter RoboAnalyzer and SimMechanics. Mathematical approach using trigonometric method is employed to calculate the inverse kinematics. The motion study of the proposed underwater manipulator in the water is conducted by experimental work. Based on the experimental work hydrodynamics effect gives steady state error and delay between command and response when underwater manipulator moves in the water. The proposed underwater manipulator robot integrated with SimMechanics 3D Animation has successful mission for underwater object grasping and manipulation both in the air and water.