Research

A lot of what I have considered my research was done when myself and my two teammates attended the MATES ROV competition last year. Throughout the twhole day I was able to explore and look at what other schools have thought of to create their claws and arms. Most of my alternate solutions have been based off of modified versions of what I saw.

Generally what I have established is that a good claw and arm contains parts which will maintain a constant pressure on the object being held. In several of my alternate solutions you can see this type of element. For example the water pressure will be a constant as will the spring attachment.

Furthermore the claw needs to have a wide spectrum of reaching capabilities. During the competition several groups had difficulties based on the fact that the claw was not large enough to hold the object. Besides the fact that this can be easily rendered through testing, I will make it easily avoided by having a large claw.

Overall the claw needs to be well rounded. From what I have heard the ROV, specifically the arm, which will be doing much of the tasks, needs to be flexible as it will have to change slightly once the objectives of the competition are released.
Types of Gears

There are multiple types of gears. Below you will find the definitions:

SPUR GEAR: A gear wheel having radial teeth parallel to the axle.
BEVEL GEAR: A gear wheel meshed with another so that their shafts are at an angle less than 180 degrees
CROWN GEAR: A gear wheel with teeth set in the rim perpendicular to its plane.
WORM GEAR: A short rotating screw that meshes with the teeth of another gear.
DIFFERENTIAL GEAR: A certain arrangement of gears connecting two axles in the same line and dividing the driving force between them, but allowing one axle to turn faster than the other. It is used in the rear axles of automobiles to permit a difference in axle speeds while turning.