DEVELOPMENT OF AN UNDERWATER VEHICLE ROBOTIC SIMULATOR TO STUDY METHODS OF RESIDENT AUVS AUTONOMOUS INTERVENTION WITH UNDERWATER INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTS

The article presents the process of developing an underwater vehicle simulator (USV) with an installed5-degree underwater manipulator complex (MC). The simulator is designed for complex testing ofautonomous interaction of a marine robotic complex (MRC) with underwater infrastructure objects. Inparticular, an example of solving the problems of simulator operation with a model of an underwater panelof an underwater production complex (UPC) and solving the problem of determining concretions andtheir autonomous collection using the simulator and MC are considered. Modern trends in the developmentof underwater robotics are focused on the creation of resident autonomous systems capable of operatingin remote and hard-to-reach areas of the World Ocean all year round. The development of residenttechnologies is associated with the need to reduce operating costs, minimize risks to personnel and increasethe autonomous functioning time of underwater complexes. The use of such technologies is especiallyrelevant in the conditions of offshore shelf development, where traditional methods of operatingunderwater vehicles encounter technical and economic limitations. The need to carry out work on the distant shelf is due to the increasing demand for hydrocarbon resources and the depletion of easily accessibledeposits on the continental shelf. According to forecasts, promising deep-water areas located atdepths greater than 1000 m have significant potential for oil and gas production. According to experts, thevolume of recoverable reserves in such areas can amount to hundreds of billions of barrels of hydrocarbonraw materials, which makes the development of effective autonomous solutions a strategically importanttask for the oil and gas industry. The paper presents software and hardware solutions used in theimplementation of the USV. A structural diagram of the design is provided; the software architecture andfeatures of the use of artificial neural network (ANN) systems as part of the technical vision system (TVS)of the USV are described. The use of TVS allows to significantly increasing the autonomy of underwatermanipulators when performing complex technological operations, such as capturing objects from theground, working with bottom infrastructure objects, etc. In conclusion, the obtained results are demonstrated,confirming the operability of the adopted design, software and hardware solutions when performingreal work in autonomous mode with mock-ups of hot-stab and torque-tool working tools and matingparts located on the mock-up of the UPC panel.