Underwater Robot Manipulation: Advances, Challenges and Prospective Ventures
Sara Aldhaheri, G. Masi, Èric Pairet, Paola Ardón
Abstract
Underwater manipulation is one of the most remarkable ongoing research subjects in robotics. Intervention autonomous underwater vehicles (I-AUVs) not only have to cope with the technical challenges associated with traditional manipulation tasks but do so while currents and waves perturb the stability of the vehicle, and low-light, turbid water conditions impede perceiving the surroundings. Certainly, the dynamic nature and our limited understanding of the marine environment hinder the autonomous performance of underwater robot manipulation. This manuscript provides a discussion on previous research and the limiting factors that impose on the long-envisioned prospects of autonomous underwater manipulation to finally highlight research directions that have the potential to improve the autonomy capabilities of I-AUVs.