The New Robots for Underwater Torch Relay at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games

For the underwater torch relay at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, an underwater variable structure robot (VSR) and an amphibious robot (AR) are designed, and the control scheme for the underwater torch relay is proposed. It is an important issue in torch relay control to compensate the composite disturbance caused by robotic arms (including torches) motion and environmental current, and a robotic arm with a burning torch will produce more significant influence on the free-floating UUV (unmanned underwater vehicle). To above concerns, a control method for underwater torch relay based on adaptive control strategy is proposed, which identifies statics and current hydrodynamic parameters online, compensates the control disturbance in advance to achieve high-precision attitude and position control for UUV. Finally, the underwater torch relay between robots is achieved for the first time in the Olympic Games history at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.