This article was taken from the March 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
When an oil-well head in the Atlantic needs to be repaired, you can't send a human diver down two kilometres. Instead, try a subsea robot built by Schilling Robotics. At the company's 4,600-square-metre manufacturing plant in Davis, California, Schilling makes a range of 14 remote-controlled robotic devices designed for exploration, construction and repair work in the deep ocean. "Our products perform in some of the harshest conditions on the planet so they have to be robust and reliable," says cofounder and CEO Tyler Schilling. Here's how one underwater operator works.
Heavy-duty subsea robot
Designed to operate in extremes of pressure and temperature, this remotely operated vehicle (ROV) acts as eyes and hands in the sea.
Its movement is controlled by a pilot on board the surface ship, and it can work at depths of 4,000 metres and pressures of up to 210 kilograms per square centimetre.
Master controller
The replica master arm controller sits in the hand of a human operator. Every move the pilot makes with this miniature arm, the full-size manipulator arm replicates, thousands of metres underwater. "Movement data is transmitted down the fibre-optic cable to the arm on the robot, where servo loops ensure it complies around 50 times per second," says Schilling.
Hydraulic thrusters
Powerful thrusters on the ROV generate 150hp to propel it in any direction, or hold it steady at a set depth. "The ROVs 'fly' around in the water with the same level of freedom that a helicopter has in the sky," explains Schilling. The ROV also features mounted cameras, which can pan and tilt, and allow the operator to view live HD video images.
The ROV
Subsea trees are structures that roughly resemble Christmas trees -- fixed to underwater wellheads, they control gas or fluid flow out of the well. Robotic manipulator arms perform vital maintenance work on these, as they are often sited too deeply for a human diver. Primarily used by the offshore gas and oil industries, Schilling's robots have also been adopted by navy salvagers and even treasure-hunters, such as Odyssey Marine Exploration.
Titan 4
Constructed from titanium, this hydraulic-powered manipulator arm moves with "seven degrees of freedom". It offers the dexterity necessary to complete complex tasks such as unscrewing panels or picking up small objects. It's strong, too: at its full reach of 1.9 metres, Titan 4 can lift objects of up to 122kg with its 9.9cm gripper.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
