Research on Simulation Platform Technology for ROV

Remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) play an important role in various fields, such as marine resource development and pipeline/cable laying. However, conducting marine test of ROV is costly and requires pilots with rich operational experience. This paper presents a hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform with three-dimensional visualization capabilities, designed to support ROV pilot training and improve the efficiency of ROV testing. The system facilitates software testing and functional verification by directly connecting to field-operating ROV control systems, and it can also be directly used for ROV pilot training. The platform incorporates physical and mathematical models to simulate physical ROV, creating ROV movement settings in virtual scenes and replicating ROV operations in a virtual environment. ROV movement data is calculated using the mathematical model and transferred to a three-dimensional model for dynamic display. Additionally, the real-time ROV movement information is fed back to the ROV control system. ROV speed variations corresponding to propeller speeds obtained from water tank experiments were compared with calculated data from the simulation platform. The results indicated the platform's efficacy as a viable alternative to physical experiments and as a valuable tool for ROV pilot training, greatly saving training and experimental costs while improving the efficiency of ROV testing and training.