Manipulation of free-floating objects using Faraday flows and deep reinforcement learning

The ability to remotely control a free-floating object through surface flows on a fluid medium can facilitate numerous applications. Current studies on this problem have been limited to uni-directional motion control due to the challenging nature of the control problem. Analytical modelling of the object dynamics is difficult due to the high-dimensionality and mixing of the surface flows while the control problem is hard due to the nonlinear slow dynamics of the fluid medium, underactuation, and chaotic regions. This study presents a methodology for manipulation of free-floating objects using large-scale physical experimentation and recent advances in deep reinforcement learning. We demonstrate our methodology through the open-loop control of a free-floating object in water using a robotic arm. Our learned control policy is relatively quick to obtain, highly data efficient, and easily scalable to a higher-dimensional parameter space and/or experimental scenarios. Our results show the potential of data-driven approaches for solving and analyzing highly complex nonlinear control problems.

Detection of Multi-pixel Low Contrast Object on a Real Sea Surface

The video images captured at long range usually have low contrast floating objects of interest on a sea surface. A comparative experimental study of the statistical characteristics of reflections from floating objects and from the agitated sea surface showed the difference in the correlation and spectral characteristics of these reflections. The functioning of the recently proposed modified matched subspace detector (MMSD) is based on the separation of the observed data spectrum on two subspaces: relatively low and relatively high frequencies. In the literature the MMSD performance has been evaluated in generally and moreover using only a sea model (additive Gaussian background clutter). This paper extends the performance evaluating methodology for low contrast object detection and moreover using only the real sea dataset. This methodology assumes an object of low contrast if the mean and variance of the object and the surrounding background are the same. The paper assumes that the energy spectrum of the object and the sea are different. The paper investigates a scenario in which an artificially created model of a floating object with specified statistical parameters is placed on the surface of a real sea image. The paper compares the efficiency of the classical Matched Subspace Detector (MSD) and MMSD for detecting low-contrast objects on the sea surface. The article analyzes the dependence of the detection probability at a fixed false alarm probability on the difference between the statistical means and variances of a floating object and the surrounding sea.

Effective mode of voltage in the electrical network when powering ships of the technical fleet and floating objects from the shore

The article discusses negative consequences of a decrease in the quality of electrical energy when feeding ship receivers of electricity from coastal sources, a method is proposed to ensure an effective voltage regime in the electrical network when feeding ships of technical fleet and floating objects from the coast. Definition of the equilibrium voltage mode at the “shore-to-ship” power supply scheme is given, the equivalent circuit of supply line (feeder) for the river fleet is developed, significant regulatory effects of the “shore-to-ship” power transmission elements are determined. Experimental studies of static characteristics of floating crane of R-99 project have been carried out. According to the results of the experiment, regulating effects on the voltage of the complex load of 0.4 kV of floating crane were determined. A calculation program for personal electronic computers has been compiled, which provides an assessment of the impact of voltage deviations in electrical networks when regulating the load. The law of voltage regulation in the “shore-to-ship” power transmission is proposed. An experimental verification of effectiveness of proposed regulation law was carried out while ensuring the equilibrium mode.

Expected electromagnetic environment at the energy infrastructure facilities of remote ports (berths)

The article deals with the issues of electromagnetic compatibility of coastal and floating objects in the waters of ports (berths). The subject of the study is the processes occurring in the electrical network when powering ships of the technical fleet and floating objects from the shore, which determine the need for automated calculation of conductive low-frequency electromagnetic disturbance for their subsequent suppression. An algorithm for calculating the parameters of the electromagnetic environment is presented, which is based on the analysis of the distribution parameters of slow voltage changes. The mechanism of EMD occurrence in voltage deviation is described and a mathematical model explaining the probability of its occurrence is presented. An algorithm for calculating the parameters of the electromagnetic environment based on slow voltage changes in the network is compiled. This algorithm is implemented in the “Program for the study of slow voltage changes by the load changingof the electrical network ". For the object under study, the parameters of the distribution of conductive low-frequency electromagnetic disturbance over a slow voltage change are determined. A block diagram of an automatic voltage regulator implementing the proposed voltage stabilization law has been developed.

Archimedes’ principle with surface tension effects in undergraduate fluid mechanics

The general physics of how objects float is only partly covered in most undergraduate fluid mechanics courses. Although Archimedes’ principle is a standard topic in fluid statics, the role of surface tension in floating is rarely discussed in detail. For example, very few undergraduate textbooks, if any, mention that the total buoyancy force on a floating object includes the weight of the fluid displaced by the meniscus. This leaves engineering students without an understanding of a wide range of phenomena that occur at a low Bond number (the ratio of buoyancy to interfacial tension forces), such as how heavier-than-water objects can float at a gas-liquid interface. This article makes a case for teaching a more unified version of Archimedes’ principle, which combines the effects of surface tension and hydrostatic pressure in calculating the total buoyancy on floating objects. Sample problems at the undergraduate level and two classroom demonstrations are described that reinforce the basic science concepts.

A Qualitative Study: Physics Concepts Used by Survivors in the 2018 Tsunami in Palu City

This study aimed to identify and examine the Physics concepts used by victims of the tsunami disaster in Palu City based on the earthquake, tsunami and liquefaction events that occurred on September 28, 2018 in Palu City. This research was descriptive qualitative. Data were collected by observation, interviews and documentation. Based on the results of the study, the researchers found several Physics concepts that were applied when the victims made efforts to save themselves from the tsunami. These findings were discussed and grouped according to the theme of the Physics concept, including: the concept of speed and velocity, Newton’s Second Law Concept, the concept of floating objects, and the concept of waves. The results can be used as a contextual example in learning physics. By doing so, the students will not only learn about Physics concepts, but also improve their understanding and awareness of local disasters.

Self-organization at air-water interfaces emerging from Marangoni and elastocapillary effects directed by amphiphile filament connections.

Marangoni and elastocapillary effects are well-known as driving forces in the self-organization of floating objects at air-water interfaces. The release of surface active compounds generates Marangoni flows that cause repulsion, whereas capillary forces drive attraction. Typically, these interactions are non-directional and mechanisms to establish directional connections between the self-organizing elements are lacking. In this work, we unravel the mechanisms involved in the self-organization of a linear amphiphile into millimeter-long filaments that form connections between floating droplets. First, we show how the release of the amphiphile tetra(ethylene glycol) monododecyl ether from a floating source droplet onto the air-water interface generates a Marangoni flow. This flow extrudes self-assembled amphiphile filaments which grow from the source droplet, and concomitantly repels floating droplets in the surroundings. A hydrophobic drain droplet that depletes the amphiphiles from the air-water interface directs the Marangoni flow and thereby the growing filaments. We show how these filaments, upon tethering to the drain, potentially facilitate internal Marangoni convection and elastocapillary effects, which attract the drain back towards the source droplet. Furthermore, this concept establishes connections that are selective to the composition of the drain droplets – which influences the rate at which they deplete the amphiphile – such that repulsive and attractive forces can be balanced. Thereby, we provide a novel method through which directional attraction can be established in synthetic self-organizing systems, and advance our understanding of how complexity arises from simple building blocks.

Fishermen Rescue Mission

The basic idea of this project is to save the life of fishermen at sea. We do this by installing a module in the fisherman’s life jacket. This module will be a transmitter which can transmit its current location. This module is made to be a floating module. Which is also waterproof. The person in the dangerous situation can press the button and the transmitter starts transmitting the location. The data is then transferred to the receiver via a network built by WLAN module which is also made by us. The WLAN module consists of the transmitter and the receiver and acts as repeater stations. These transmitters and receivers also contain the LoRa module. The LoRa module is Incorporated because of its long range communication specifications. The repeater station is placed buoy the help of buoys. Buoys are floating objects which are then anchored to make them stationary. The receiver is a portable one and dynamically we can get the location of the transmitter. Hence we can locate the person and then rescue them Keywords: LoRa, WLAN, GPS module,

Massed Strandings of Whales and Dolphins – Effects of Wind, Waves and Tides.

We examined125 mass-stranding events of cetaceans (>=10 individuals) on New Zealand shores over the past 40 years. The wind, waves, wave refraction, shore slopes and tides at the dates and locations of these events were considered. The mass-strandings involved 10 different species, but by far the most common involved the Long-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala melas. Our hypothesis is that mass-stranding is a three-stage process. The first stage is when an animal becomes ill, its body may become bloated and float on the surface, and the wind and waves may drive it ashore. We assume the second stage is that the dying or dead body may be accompanied by pod members as a result of strong social bonds. The third stage involves the tides and the beach slope. If these are of sufficient amplitude, the nearby attendees will quickly become stranded in the intertidal of a gently sloping beach as the water level falls. We have evaluated evidence for the first and third stages. In the overwhelming majority (91%) of the mass-strandings (omitting events inside estuaries), the available data showed that wind and waves would drive floating objects (bodies) toward the stranding site. Examination of the nearshore slopes and the tide ranges showed that the vast majority of the stranding sites were slowly shelving beaches where the tides would retreat rapidly over 10s of metres. These 2 results are even more pronounced if only Pilot Whale mass strandings are considered.

Surface habitat modification through industrial tuna fishery practices

Natural floating objects (FOBs) have always been a major component of the habitat of pelagic species. Since the 1990s, the number of FOBs in the open ocean has increased greatly as a result of the introduction of fish aggregating devices (FADs) by the industrial tropical tuna purse seine vessels. These changes, and their potential impacts on the species that associate with FOBs, remain poorly understood. Using fisheries observer data, data from satellite-linked tracking buoys attached to FOBs and Lagrangian simulations, this study quantifies the temporal changes in the density and spatial distribution of FOBs due to the use of FADs in the Indian Ocean (IO) between 2006 and 2018. From 2012 to 2018, the entire western IO is impacted, with FADs representing more than 85% of the overall FOBs, natural FOBs less than 10%, and objects originating from pollution 5%. Results also suggest that both FADs and natural FOBs densities are lower in the eastern IO, but this initial investigation highlights the need for further studies. Our study confirms that FADs have greatly modified the density and spatial distribution of FOBs, which highlights the need to investigate potential consequences on the ecology of associated species.