Preliminary design of the multi-legged underwater walking robot CR200

Abstract

This paper presents the design results of the underwater walking robot named CR200 which is able to perform the precise inspection and manipulation in underwater tidal and low visibility environment. The main mission of the CR200 is to survey and inspect the subsea structure and shipwrecks in the cost of Korea Peninsula. The CR200 has 6 legs for mechanical contact with seabed and the forward 2 legs also work as robotic arms for underwater manipulation. The CR200 endures the tidal current by controlling the posture of its streamlined body and legs so the hydrodynamic forces on the body and legs work to improve the stability margin. The numerical simulations were performed for the evaluation of current loads acting on the CR200 with a variety of incident angles using ANSYS-CFX package. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations were solved to simulate the fluid flow around the CR200 to calculate forces and moments induced by incoming current with angles.