Robotics for Seabed Teleoperation: Part-1-Conception and Practical Implementation of a Hybrid Seabed Robot

Remote exploration and work on the seabed require special-use robots that are adapted to both working on rough surfaces and traveling through an underwater environment. This paper discusses a prototype design for a hybrid robot that moves like a submarine in one configuration and like a humanoid in another. This hybrid design allows the robot to move efficiently on the work surface and execute its functions on that surface with human-like movements. Moreover the robot has hydraulic actuators with 24 degrees of freedom. Furthermore, this paper discusses design choices and preliminary tests related to navigation, transformation from one configuration to another, and a gestural teleoperation control scheme.