ROV's FOR BEGINNERS
Control Systems
The Control System controls the different functions of the ROV, from
controlling the Propulsion System to switching on a Video Camera.
From fairly simple relay Control Systems in the past to today's ROV, the ROV
has usually a Computer as it's Brains and Subsystem control interface, the
Control System has to manage the Control input from the Operator at the Surface
into actions Subsea. The data required by the Operator on the Surface to
accurately determine his position in the water is collected by sensors and
subsequently transmitted back to the Operator at the Surface.
Over the last 10 to 15 years the Computers utilised for these purposes have
been Designer Computers with highly sophisticated Computer Programs and Control
sequences, now today you can find standard 486 Computers in the heart of these
system. There has been a shift back to simpler Control Systems recently with the
commercial advent of the PLC, Programmable Logic Computer.
This is used in numerous Manufacturing processes since it consists of easily
assembled modular building blocks of Switches, Analogue In / Out puts and
Digital In / Out puts.
What the designers of the ROV Control Systems has tried to achieve has been
to increase the reliability and serviceability of the ROV equipment.