The Development of a Low Cost Inertial Navigation System for a Remotely Operated Vehicle

Modern robotic vehicles use a large and varied set of sensors to navigate and localise their position in the environment and determine where they should be heading to accomplish their tasks. These sensors include GPS, infrared and ultrasonic range finders, laser scanners and sonar. However, the underwater environment presents challengers for modern robotic vehicles because most sensors that are typically used for navigation and localisation have reduced or no functionality underwater. This thesis details the design and construction of a low cost Inertial Navigation System use on the Victoria University of Wellington's (VUW) Mechatronics group Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). The major electronic systems, comprising of the onboard computer and microcontroller, of the ROV have been upgraded to allow for the increased computational power that the Inertial Navigation System needs and to allow further upgrading and installation of electrical and electronic systems in the vehicle as they are required. Modifications to the chassis allow quick and simple disassembly of the ROV to repair or replace major components if the need arises.