CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 



The tests validated the achievement of the design goals discussed on 

 pages 9 and 10 of this report. In addition, the tests indicated that the 

 supervisory-controlled vehicle configuration allows a reliable, flexible soft- 

 ware structure which provides a testbed for both projection and replacement of 

 manned concepts. The modular software and hardware architecture concepts were 

 not only realized, but they have helped finalize the designs which overcame 

 problems encountered in the vehicle's development history. 



Of the problems encountered during the testing phase, man/machine inter- 

 action stood out as an area which could always be improved. It was difficult 

 in the field to visualize, communicate, and verify quickly the a-priori 

 derived, data base information required to command the vehicle to execute a 

 desired programmed trajectory. An editor- type program was required and aug- 

 mented with a means of plotting the planned trajectory. Analogic displays 

 were developed when possible to help the operator visualize the status of the 

 operation at any given moment to aid real-time vehicle control in the field. 

 This entire man/machine interface can be further improved in the future. 

 Speed of interaction and ease of understanding the computer output information 

 are the key areas for improvement. Similar man/machine improvements are fore- 

 seen as desirable as part of the manipulator package: A simulated master arm 

 would allow analogic communication with the vehicle manipulator and special 

 sensors and a moving cursor display would provide a means of keeping track of 

 the manipulator claw through a low bandwidth communication channel. Such 

 approaches are highly recommended in the design of future remotely or 

 supervisory-controlled undersea vehicle systems. 



Although the EAVE WEST testbed is far from being a truly autonomous 

 undersea system, the approach taken to combine projection modes of operation 

 with replacement (or autonomous) modes of operation has proven to have several 

 advantages. First, advanced autonomous concepts are being approached one step 

 at a time. Second, the operator can always "take over" when an autonomous 

 operation experiences problems or is completed. Third, through experience, it 

 is easy to identify primitive autonomous operations which would be useful even 

 in undersea vehicles which are primarily operated as remotely controlled ve- 

 hicle systems (RCVS) in projection mode. The eventual autonomous configura- 

 tion might be configured from a hierarchy of such primitive operations. 



It should be remembered that shape of the frame for the EAVE WEST vehicle 

 can easily be changed to fit special requirements and missions. This is par- 

 ticularly important in commercial applications where it becomes quite cost 

 effective to transfer the motors and electronic bottles to a new frame to 

 achieve large differences in the performance of the vehicle in speed, maneu- 

 verability, or static stability. For example, it is possible to build a 

 square or rectangularly shaped frame to make a much more stable platform for 

 use with the manipulator configuration. On the other hand, speed could easily 

 be traded for mechanical flexibility by packaging the entire pipeline inspec- 

 tion configuration into a cylindrical fairing using the fairing itself as the 

 mechanical frame and gussets to hold the various bottles, sensors, and effec- 

 tors. In either case, the present modular frame would simply be set aside. 



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