Autonomous robots may soon replace divers in the search for small mines on the hulls of ships thanks to a collaboration between the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
For years, the Navy used divers to sweep ship hulls for dangerous devices, but the process could take hours to complete and was not without danger to those undertaking it. MIT, which has been working on an underwater robot called the Navy's Hovering Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HULS) since 2002 to do the job, now has developed new algorithms that improve robot navigation to work autonomously to identify mines, according to researchers there. Bluefin Robotics designed the body of HULS while MIT designed and continues to work on its control system.
MIT researchers have improved the navigation and ability to detect small mines on the hulls of ships for its Autonomous Underwater Hull Inspection Vehicle, pictured here. Small mines can create significant damage to a ship's hull even if they don't threaten the lives of people onboard. (Source: The Office of Naval Research)
MIT's Franz Hover, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and graduate student Brendan Englot, developed the new code for HULS, which allows the robot to swim around a ship's hull and view structures on it, such as propellers and shafts. Ultimately, engineers want to design a system that will allow HULS to detect a 10cm mine attached to the side of a ship. These mines, while small, can create significant damage to a ship, according to the Navy.
Coming up with the new control code was no easy task, according to MIT researchers, who worked on the computational problem for about 10 years because it demands that the robot get a very up close and personal view of such a massive vessel, said Hover, in the press release. "It's not enough to just view it from a safe distance," he said. "The vehicle has to go in and fly through the propellers and the rudders, trying to sweep everything, usually with short-range sensors that have a limited field of view."
Researchers took a two-stage approach to developing the new controls for HULS, first programming the robot to approach a ship from a 10m distance and swimming in a square around it. The distance was safe enough for the robot not to collide with any items on the ship's hull or the hull itself.
This seems like a perfect use case for a robot partner when you consider the danger factor related to the underwater mines coupled with the difficulties humans could have navigating under water. Sounds like a lot of complex thinking went into the design, especially around the computer graphics algorithms and use of sensors.
Actually,this is a lot like those robots you can buy that autonomously sweep your floor. They are just much more sophisticated. Of course, they might want to look at other sensors, like vision. Since the robot can, on the second pass, get close to the hull, that could work.
What the Navy calls HULS resemble some of the existing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) we included in the nautical robots slideshow, especially the Bluefin Robotics hovering autonomous underwater vehicle (HAUV): http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1386&doc_id=246206&image_number=13 Since this basic technology has been used by the military for some time, including for mine detection, I wonder why the Navy has decided to invent its own versions?
@Ann- From what I'm reading, the function is the same but the operation is different. The HAUV requires human interaction and the HULS moves underwater and around ships on its own.
I know the Navy struggles with keeping EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) units fully staffed with highly qualified candidates. Mechanizing underwater mine sweeping would require less manpower. And, the Navy could focus more training on the skilled EOD techs for other operations.
I get that this new algorithm takes a pass-by-pass approach (like cutting the lawn) over the old methods of big-image & zoom-in. But I'm not sure I understand the Navy's interest in locating explosive devices on ships which have already sunk. These impose Risk to someone-? And they've been 10 years in development on this-? I think I'm missing the value-added point of this project ,,,,,(?)
I was just thinking about these types of applications this week. It's not as elegant and sexy as underwater mine detection, but how soon before someone designs an autonomous crab trap?
After several seasons of Deadliest Catch, each time I see it on TV I think of the opportunity to design either a self-navigating underwater crab trap, or a self-navigating underwater crab trap deployment/collector. Now that the fishermen of Deadliest Catch can live off of their residuals from the Discovery Channel, I would assume that we have all of the technology required to design a system that:
1) Propels itself along the sea floor
2) Uses sensors to detect high populations of crab
3) Deploys a baited crab trap or simply parks its integrated trap on the sea floor
4) Detects when a predetermined number of crab have entered the trap
5) Collects the filled trap or launches off of the sea floor
6) Navigates back to port autonomously
Not only would it be lucrative, it would also reduce the fatalities in the #1 deadliest job in the US, commercial fishing.
I'll get the drawn butter ready if anyone would like to join me on this project.
I think you're onto to something, Bill. Every time I watch Deadliest Catch I wonder if technology could make that job safer. Now, we need a robotic alligator finder to help those guys on Gator Boys.
I think that is good idea william, although i have never watched the deadliest catch i know how dangerous it is. I would help you but i am not an engineer and also i dont know much about how to make projects that require sensers, robots ect.
@JimT-Unexploded ordnance is a majour problem around world. We all know about the damage land mines pose to locals in former war-torn areas. Sea mines are just as dangerous and distructive.
@JimT-The Navy's not concerned with previously sunken ships--they worry about currently deployed assets at anchor. Consider Fleet Week in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. A carrier group comes in fairly close to shore. A terrorist with rebreather equipment (no bubbles) could deploy a small limpet mine amongst the propellor/rudder structure. These autonomous robots hopefully can detect this if all other security measures have failed. I imagine that the detection algorithm in typically limited visibility and complex structure is what took 10 years to develop and test.
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