Design of tether cable for a deep-sea walking ROV, Crabster CR6000

Abstract

A deep-sea Remotely Operated Vehicle(ROV) which has six artificial and articulated legs has been developed by Marine ICT Research Division in Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) since 2015. The maximum operating depth of this ROV is 6,000m and its name is Crabster CR6000. The CR6000 system has adopted typical two-body system which comprises CR6000 itself and one shuttle which does not only play a role as a depressor or a launcher but also carries the CR6000. In this paper, design and application of a tether cable which connects the shuttle and the CR6000 for power transmission and communication. It needs to have positive buoyancy to avoid to be trampled by the robot or to entangle the robot. We conducted experiments in a water basin and in the Pacific ocean to verify the overall performance of the ROV system. Results of the experiments and performance of the cable will be described briefly.