A D VA N C E D S Y S T E M T E C H N O L O G Y A S T

1 C-Watch is a highly
maneuverable underwater vehicle

REMOTELY OPERATED UNDERWATER VEHICLE: C-WATCH

Overview

Platform

C-Watch is a highly maneuverable remo-

C-Watch uses five or six propulsion units

Am Vogelherd 50

tely operated vehicle (ROV). In contrast to

for movement and attitude control. These

98693 Ilmenau

common ROVs the C-Watch vehicle is

units use the robust CAN bus for commu-

equipped with an internal energy storage

nication with the control computer inside

that allows to use lightweight fiber optic

the central pressure hull. This computer

cables between the robot and its control

also controls all sensors of the vehicle and

station.

observes the battery state. All collected

Advanced System Technology AST

Surface Water & Maritime Systems:

Dr Torsten Pftzenreuter
Phone +49 3677 461-143

information is presented to the vehicle

Fax +49 3677 461-100

The flexible design of the vehicle and

operator on different screens of the control

torsten.pfuetzenreuter@iosb-ast.fraunhofer.de

different interfacing options enables the

station (usually a laptop or stationary

C-Watch owner to fulfill numerous tasks

computer).

with this ROV. A number of sensor options

are available for underwater navigation or

A forward looking optical camera with

environmental sensing.

high power LED lighting is used by default

for navigation and visual inspection. The

www.iosb-ast.fraunhofer.de

A unique feature of C-Watch is the

optional forward looking sonar assists the

ability to convert it into a true autonomous

operator in long range navigation. The

underwater vehicle (AUV) - without the

main battery can be easily replaced in

need of a cable connection - provided

the field to extend the deployment time

that the required navigation sensors are

(additional battery modules are optional).

integrated.

Sensor interfaces

Technical characteristics

Standard sensor equipment

The C-Watch vehicle can easily be

tailored for individual monitoring or

intervention tasks. It is equipped with open
sensor interfaces allowing the integration
of different sensor or actuator modules.
Customers can select from a range of
field-tested sensors or order the installation
of own sensors.

Main Battery: 800 Wh (7 LiPo cells)

Weight: 45 kg

Dimensions: 850x550x450mm (LxWxH)

Diving depth: up to 100 meters
Deployment time: up to 4 hours

Pressure sensor (depth and temperature

measurement)
AHRS sensor (vehicle attitude)
GPS sensor (vehicle position at surface)
Forward looking camera with lighting

Fiber optic cable: 500 1200 meters

The sensor data are integrated into the user

interface for vehicle control. New protocol
specifications can be adopted with user
defined scripts.
The following standard interfaces are
available:

RS-232
RS-485 (multi-sensor capable)
CAN (multi-sensor capable)
USB

For other interfaces please contact

Fraunhofer AST.
2

Optionally, the following sensors are

available for integration:

DVL (Doppler velocity log,

Altimeter (height above

speed measurement)
ground measurement)

2 Vehicle control and

Forward looking sonar (obstacle

monitoring system

avoidance and object identification)

3 Construction of the C-Watch

Downward looking camera with

vehicle (with optional equipment)

lightning
3