List Underwater Drones with Claw Robotic Arm

[Eternal Angler]

I think it's quite obvious after going through the many different underwater drone and ROV groups on Facebook, many hobbyists are wanting a claw for their underwater drone. I had talked to a new enthusiast and he stated he's purposedly holding off on a purchase specifically for a claw attachment, which I was kind of doing, until I saw Dustin Dunnill's video and Wellbots.com incredible sale on the Geneinno Titan, I couldn't resist.
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So lets now list the underwater drones that feature a claw attachment, I suspect some claw attachments are either in the development stage or close to hitting the market, like QYSEA's claw for the Fifish V6. Having a robotic arm on a ROV like the Fifish V6 would be a complete game changer due to the extensive maneuverability, especially the lateral movement and 90 degree angle. That 90 degree angle would allow you to get in really tight places, like in between rocks and boulders at the bottom.

So enough talk, here's a list of underwater drones with a caw attachment or robotic arm.

Geneinno Titan T1

Chasing M2

QYSEA Fifish V6S


Deep Trekker

ThorRobotics 110RO

BlueROV2


Development Stage
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Ketil's Custom Claw for Gladius Mini -> contact them on Facebook


Thomas Eichhorn's Custom Gripper for Gladius Mini -> contact on Facebook

Erhan's Claw for the Chasing Dory -> contact on Facebook

 

[Eternal Angler]

Well I can add Chasing Innovations new Chasing M2 underwater drone to this list, as the CMO and co-founder Jacky Yank just remarked explicitly to my post saying that their moving on robotic arm technology.

They also said you'll be able to attach 3rd party or even customer created, so maybe something like Blue Robotic Gripper, like seen in this video with the Fifish V6.

 

[Oddmar]

Well I can add Chasing Innovations new M2 underwater drone to this list, as the CMO and co-founder Jacky Yank just remarked explicitly to my post saying that their moving on robotic arm technology.

Most of the grippers i've seen look like a poorly-thought-out last-minute addon. And Blue Robotics' Newton gripper works twice then breaks.

I've designed my own manipulators, similar to the Schilling Robotics ones, but with mineral-oil-filled linear servos instead of hydraulics. 9-dof each, two manipulators on the ROV, w/force feedback so you can sense when you are touching something. Grip style changes from linear to circular, with Festo-style flexible fingers. Magnetic angle sensors instead of potentiometers for 12-bit resolution. Microcams on the wrists to try and compensate for the lack of depth perception, also allowing one to reach into a small area and look around. DIY joystick control based on the VPC Constellation Alpha joysticks. Joysticks mounted to multi-jointed arm with angle sensors at each joint to emulate the manipulator's joints.

I'm not sure if i could build one small enough to mount on, say, a BlueROV2, but i'm aiming more for an affordable small work-class ROV than a 'drone'. Something more the size of a small chest freezer or a really large cooler. But with the Deeptrekker DTG3 'Expert' going for $10k, i ought to be able to build an ROV that's affordable.

Being a one-man-band, technically proficient but no salesman, my current goal is just to build my own, and carefully document the build so that others may follow if they wish. With the current C-19 issues we face, i ought to have the time to do it.

 

[Oddmar]

One of the big issues is not only a flexible, easily-controlled manipulator, but the actual control interface to allow you to control it topside. Blue Robotics have done a good job with Ardusub, but the firmware doesn't even allow for panning a camera, nor apparently can it be written to allow for that, let alone for enough axis to control a 9-dof manipulator. I'm looking into software called Flowbotics Studio written by Lynxmotion. Lynxmotion (i think) sold to RobotShop, but you can still buy their SSC32U servo controllers, which can be fed by an Arduino or Raspberry Pi onboard the ROV via the I2C or SPI bus. Input from the joysticks mapped by MMjoy2 software, fed downstream by PuTTY.

 

[Will Turner]

1 DOF robotic arm is not the end! follow Geneinno to find more.

 

[Eternal Angler]

1 DOF robotic arm is not the end! follow Geneinno to find more.

Awesome Will, yeah I see Geneinno posted a photo of the new updated arm claw on Facebook and Instagram! Don't be afraid to upload photos on the forum, just hit the "insert image button" up above. Glad to finally have you on the forum, I was wonder when you were going to register, about time!