The Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge (SAUVC): An effort to engage and expose young engineers to challenges of underwater robotics

Driven by the rising demand for underwater operations concerning dam structure monitoring, Hydropower Plant (HPP), reservoir, and lake ecosystem inspection, and mining and oil exploration, underwater robotics applications are increasing rapidly. The increase in exploration, prospecting, monitoring, and security in lakes, rivers, and the sea in commercial applications has led large companies and research centers to invest underwater vehicle development. The purpose of this work is to present the design of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), focusing efforts on dimensioning structural elements and machinery and elaborating the sensory part, which includes navigation sensors and environmental conditions sensors. The integration of these sensors in an intelligent platform provides a satisfactory control of the vehicle, allowing the movement of the submarine on the three spatial axes. Because of the satisfactory fast response of the sensors, one can determine the acceleration and inclination as well as the attitude in relation to the trajectory instantaneously taken. This vehicle will be able to monitor the physical integrity of dams, making acquisition and storage of environmental parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity, as well as document images of the biota from reservoir lake HPPs, with minimal cost, high availability, and low dependence on a skilled workforce to operate it.

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Design and Control Strategy of Bio-inspired Underwater Vehicle with Flexible Propulsor

Journal of Modern Mechanical Engineering and Technology ◽

10.31875/2409-9848.2021.08.7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 57-65

Author(s):

Santanu Mitra ◽

Vaibhav Sehgal ◽

Shubham Rathore ◽

Raghav Puri ◽

Shivani Chouhan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽

Underwater Vehicle ◽

Underwater Robotics ◽

Swimming Pattern ◽

Vehicle Efficiency ◽

Body Design ◽

Turning Motion ◽

And Control ◽

Manta Ray ◽

Propulsive Mechanism

Biomimetics aims to take inspiration from nature and develop new models and efficient systems for a sustainable future. Bioinspired underwater robotics help develop future submarines that will navigate through the water using flexible propulsor. This research has focused on the Manta Ray species as batoid has a unique advantage over other species. This study also aims to improve AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) efficiency through biomimetic design, the purpose of which is to observe and study the marine environment, be it for sea exploration or navigation. The design and prototyping process of bioinspired AUVs have been mentioned in this study, along with testing a propulsive mechanism for efficient swimming and turning capabilities. The Robot was designed taking structural considerations from the actual Manta-Ray locomotion and body design. The propulsion mechanism and control circuit were then implemented on the developed systems. The prototype of the Manta Ray was able to generate a realistic swimming pattern and was tested in an acrylic tank. The experimental results obtained in the tank basin are very close to the results we observe in the real-world scenario in terms of the vehicle's forward and turning motion.

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A Mechatronic Description of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle for Dam Inspection

Mobile Ad Hoc Robots and Wireless Robotic Systems - Advances in Computational Intelligence and Robotics ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2658-4.ch010 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 186-201

Author(s):

Ítalo Jáder Loiola Batista ◽

Antonio Themoteo Varela ◽

Edicarla Pereira Andrade ◽

José Victor Cavalcante Azevedo ◽

Tiago Lessa Garcia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Underwater Vehicle ◽

Fast Response ◽

Hydropower Plant ◽

Lake Ecosystem ◽

Underwater Robotics ◽

Structure Monitoring ◽

Commercial Applications ◽

And Storage

Driven by the rising demand for underwater operations concerning dam structure monitoring, Hydropower Plant (HPP), reservoir, and lake ecosystem inspection, and mining and oil exploration, underwater robotics applications are increasing rapidly. The increase in exploration, prospecting, monitoring, and security in lakes, rivers, and the sea in commercial applications has led large companies and research centers to invest underwater vehicle development. The purpose of this work is to present the design of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), focusing efforts on dimensioning structural elements and machinery and elaborating the sensory part, which includes navigation sensors and environmental conditions sensors. The integration of these sensors in an intelligent platform provides a satisfactory control of the vehicle, allowing the movement of the submarine on the three spatial axes. Because of the satisfactory fast response of the sensors, one can determine the acceleration and inclination as well as the attitude in relation to the trajectory instantaneously taken. This vehicle will be able to monitor the physical integrity of dams, making acquisition and storage of environmental parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity, as well as document images of the biota from reservoir lake HPPs, with minimal cost, high availability, and low dependence on a skilled workforce to operate it.

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Natural Resource Exploration With Sonar on Underwater Vehicle

Volume 7: Ocean Space Utilization; Ocean Renewable Energy ◽

10.1115/omae2012-83819 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Takao Sawa ◽

Takafumi Kasaya ◽

Tadahiro Hyakudome ◽

Hiroshi Yoshida

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earth Elements ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽

Chemical Elements ◽

Underwater Vehicle ◽

Hot Water ◽

Underwater Robotics ◽

Underwater Exploration

Occurring as a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, rare earth elements such as neodymium are necessary for the development of mobile phones and magnet motors. Although securing rare earth elements is essential for economic growth of all nations, their demand is rapidly expanding among global powers such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Rare earth element deposits were discovered in the seafloor near hydrothermal vents in the 1980s. Japan has the sixth largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is abundant in underwater natural resources such as a cobalt and a manganese mine. Because underwater exploration of rare earth elements was deemed unprofitable, the practice was suspended. Current advancements in underwater robotics, however, have led to economic viability in this venture. Such developments have resulted in the increased use of remote sensing with sonars on unmanned underwater vehicles. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) developed a cruising autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) known as Urashima. This AUV performed its first sea trial in 2000, and cruise for 317 km without recharging or refueling in 2005 as a world record at the time. The first mission of Urashima was a vast sea exploration to investigate worldwide environmental crises such as global warming. However, the purpose of these missions has since then shifted primarily to the exploration of underwater natural resources. In addition, JAMSTEC developed a synthetic aperture sonar on a neutral buoyancy towfish in 2010. This underwater exploration system, known as Kyouryuu, scanned Wakamiko caldera at the sea bottom in Kagoshima Bay where volcanic activity was evident. Numerous hot-water flows from hydrothermal vents were clearly recorded. In addition, many dormant chimneys were detected. These features provide important data for estimating the distribution of hydrothermal vents and chimneys in addition to their transitions.

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