Development of a command interface based on handheld devices for remotely operated vehicles

During the launch stage of a remotely operated vehicle, the operator must run tests at the beginning of the mission. Most of the surface stations for the operation of underwater vehicles consist of a cabin or a heavy case. Either option restricts the operator movement and limits the line of sight between the pilot and the vehicle. Furthermore, this kind of systems require a high level of expertise among pilots. To address this problem, this work presents the development of a user friendly and intuitive graphical interface. This work addresses the development of an Android mobile application running on a gaming tablet for the command of the underwater remotely operated vehicle Visor3. This document describes the mobile device's selection process, the system architecture, the design procedure and its implementation. Later, the graphical user interface elements are explained. Robustness and usability testing have been conducted to prove the user interface while operating the ROV Visor3.