The Maski underwater robot: Technology, field experience and benefits

Abstract

Hydro-Québec operates 58 hydroelectric power plants and owns over 500 dams and control structures. In order to ensure their safety and proper operation, Hydro-Québec develops robotic technologies that can perform diagnosis and interventions tasks underwater. More than an ROV, Maski is really an underwater robot, as it can perform motion in a fully automated fashion, in manual piloting or using partly assisted navigation modes. These functionalities are made possible by the integration of a sophisticated positioning system that combines input from various sensors to produce a continuous and optimal estimate of the robot's position. The Maski robot can accomplish various tasks: visual inspection with on-screen measurement of defects, surface reconstruction from profiling sonar data, acoustic imaging and light intervention. This paper describes the distinctive features of Maski, presents results from different field jobs and explains how the use of this technology provides significant cost savings.