How-to Build an Amazing Underwater Tractor

The Nexans Spider is a remote operated vehicle (ROV) used to level the seabed and clear the way for a 1,200-kilometer undersea pipeline to support natural gas collection from the Ormen Lange gas field. It operates at depths of 1,000+ meters below sea level and in below freezing temperatures.

LabVIEW and CompactRIO are used to control its very complex hydraulic systems. In addition, their LabVIEW front panel has an advanced 3-D "virtual reality" HMI display of the ocean floor so the operator can maneuver the vehicle in poor lighting conditions (1,000 meters below sea level with sand and dirt flying everywhere).

There are three CompactRIO systems located on the deck of the parent ship (floating above it). The first of these performs advanced control algorithms to compensate for the (very extreme) rising and falling seas, keeping constant tension on the cables that tether the Spider (on the ocean floor) to the ship. The second one controls the winch. The third is used to control the power for the Spider's 1,700 horsepower motors.



NI released a full customer solution about Nexans' project last year.