On August 26, 2021, R&D Center / Robot Business division of KNR Systems Inc. conducted a 2,500 msw depth rating pressure chamber test on the entire robotic arm at Pusan National University’s The Ship and Offshore Research Institute located in Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do. In this pressurization test, ‘HYDRA-UW3’ surpassed the initial target of 2,500 msw (250 bar) and showed stable operation even under the pressurized state of 2,830msw (283 bar).
KNR Systems Inc. developed each hydraulic robotic arm for 7DOF and 5DOF for underwater work in 2017. ‘HYDRA-UW3‘ is a hydraulic robotic arm for underwater (deep sea) work that can be controlled remotely by being mounted on the front end of a Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle (ROV).
<‘HYDRA-UW3‘ An Underwater Hydraulic Robotic Arm for 7DOF, 5DOF>
‘HYDRA-UW3‘ not only has superior performance (payload of 120 kg) compared to the world’s leading robotic arm for deep sea, but also has excellent control performance and high precision (over 19bit). It can also deliver delicate and accurate work with fast inverse kinematics calculation (1kHz). Additionally, user’s (operator’s) convenient coordinate system can be applied as it is equipped with various cameras and their point of view. Each axis has a pressure sensor to apply force control and compliance control. The biggest advantage of ‘HYDRA-UW3‘ is that speed vector commands can be directly used for robotic arm manipulation commands unlike other companies’ underwater robotic arms for deep sea. Therefore, when it’s mounted on ROV, many interface types can be utilized and leads to having higher flexibility than other companies’ products.
‘HYDRA-UW3‘ is a remote work system which provides high degree of freedom, and it can be utilized diversely in hazardous area where it is difficult for humans to work. For instance, ‘HYDRA-UW3‘ can be used at work that requires waterproofing, disaster prevention/disaster response work, and offshore plant construction as well as work in the water (deep sea). Currently, it is being used in a variety of industries, such as a mud removal robot of intake of nuclear power plant, a nuclear power plant dismantling demonstration test, and a Vietnam gas pipeline project. Its application will be gradually expanded to other fields.
<‘HYDRA-UW3’ An Underwater Hydraulic Robotic Arm for 7DOF, 5DOF>
After the completion of the development of the robotic arm, KNR Systems Inc. has completed the 500msw and 2,500msw depth rating element parts tests, the 500msw depth rating pressurized chamber test of the entire robotic arm, and the operation test in the real sea such as East Sea of Korea and Vietnam, etc.
It is planned to carry out 2,500msw depth rating demonstration test in the real sea by the end of this year with its installation on the ROV.
