Stabilization of underwater camera

Abstract

This thesis describes the development, implementation and testing of a full scale underwater camera system for surveillance purposes in aquaculture. The mechanical development was carried out using Solidworks, and the software implementation is basedon ROS (Robotic Operating System), in which several open source libraries have beenincorporated. A mathematical model of the camera system has been derived as well as a simulation tool in Matlab for simulation. Suspended from a single rope, the camera system is equipped with a water jet propulsion system that allows the yaw (heading) to be controlled by the use of a PID controller. A gimbal inspired mechanism enables control of the camera pitch (tilt). Experiments at a full scale fish farm facility yields promising results for the yaw-control, whereas the pitch control needs to be further developed.