Application of the systems engineering process to the explosive ordnance disposal requirement for an underwater system

Abstract

The ability to conduct an investigation of a possible mine, while maintaining a low profile in an area of operations, would be significantly improved through development of a man-portable underwater remotely operated vehicle. The specifications for such a vehicle, as developed in this study, would require a level of performance which does not exist in todays small ROV's. Based on this conceptual study, however, these specifications are attainable with additional development of current systems.

ROV systems in use today tend to be a compilation of subsystems from various manufacturers. This results in redundancy of items such as video displays and computers. It is possible to have separate displays and computers for the installed sonar, the ROV itself and the tracking system. The benefits of integrated development for a system such as this are obvious.