Industrial activities, rapid industrialization, uncontrolled population growth, and climate change have led to a significant increase in the amount of toxic waste discharged into water resources. Consequently, monitoring water pollution has become a critical necessity to ensure the sustainability of aquatic ecosystems and public health. Traditional monitoring methods currently in use, such as manual sampling by divers and fixed-station systems, generally fall short due to depth limitations, high operational costs, severe safety risks, and a lack of continuous spatial
data. This project aims to overcome these operational, technical, and economic barriers. To this end, an innovative, multi-purpose Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV) with a modular architecture has been designed and developed to perform observation, measurement, and sampling tasks in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
The developed vehicle features a highly modular architecture, allowing it to be easily modified according to the specific requirements of various underwater research tasks. It is equipped with specialized mechanisms capable of safely collecting physical samples from both the water column and bottom sediment at targeted depths in a sterile manner. Simultaneously, an array of high-resolution onboard sensors allows for the real-time measurement of critical water quality parameters, including temperature, pressure, dissolved oxygen, pH, electrical conductivity, and oxidation-reduction
potential.
A dual-camera system integrated into the vehicle provides a detailed inspection of the underwater environment and significantly increases the pilot’s control. By processing the images obtained from the front camera using AI algorithms—specifically YOLOv8—advanced analyses such as assessing the health and density of reefs, identifying macroscopic water pollutants, and detecting and counting marine life populations are made possible.
Thanks to the hydrodynamic hull design, which was meticulously optimized through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses, the vehicle can successfully complete its missions with high stability and energy efficiency, even in challenging aquatic flows. The vehicle’s Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) movement capability guarantees precise positioning under demanding conditions. Comprehensive
computer-aided structural analyses and real-world field tests have thoroughly validated the vehicle’s operational competencies, including its pressure resistance, waterproofing capabilities, and thrust performance. The results demonstrate that the developed system is a cost-effective, field-applicable, and highly reliable technological solution that minimizes human risk in water quality monitoring and sanitation processes.
