Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle featuring advances in rotational actuation, communication, and localization

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 101-103).The design for a spherical Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) with a camera, called the Eyeball ROV due to motions similar to the human eye, is presented in this thesis. The ROV features an actuation scheme that utilizes a two-axis gimbal for changing the location of the center of mass of the ROV. This creates continuous and unlimited rotations in place on the part of the ROV, allowing the camera to be panned and tilted. A model of the ROV is presented, and control was tested in both simulation and experiments. In addition, a dual-use system for both communication and localization of the ROV is presented. This novel dual-use system uses visible blue light (-470nm) to relay data in addition to providing a beacon with which the orientation and position in space of the ROV was estimated. This localization algorithm was implemented using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), and was tested in both simulations and experiments.by Ian Charles Rust.S.M

LED based lighting and communications: An emerging technology for a greener more sustainable future

The paper discusses on the effect that the growth in our energy consumption as a species is having upon the planet, and how the global lighting and telecommunications industries are major contributors. We demonstrate that through the adoption of LED based lighting combined with visible light communications, substantial economical and power savings by orders of magnitude can be made over existing technologies, contributing towards a greener more sustainable future. The future of LED technology is also discussed with a focus on organic technology, promising increased savings

Underwater communication via compact mechanical sound generation

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (page 55).Effective communication with underwater remotely operated vehicles (UROV) can be difficult to accomplish. In water, simple radio communication is quickly dissipated at higher frequencies and lower frequencies require a large antenna, which may not be practical in all applications. Light can also be used to communicate with the vehicles, but requires line of sight between the source and detector. Sound can also be used as a communication method, and has many advantages. It can propagate long distances underwater and does not require line of sight to work effectively. However, generating sound electronically underwater requires a large power speaker to produce tones loud enough to travel far distances. Generating sound mechanically can take advantage of physical resonance and produce high intensity tones in a compact device with a relatively low power input. This can allow for a compact, high intensity method to communicate with remotely operated underwater vehicles.by Wyatt Ubellacker.S.B

Automating X-ray and neutron imaging applications with flexible automation

This dissertation advances the capability of autonomous manipulation systems for non-destructive testing applications, specifically computed tomography and radiography. Non-destructive testing is the inspection of a part that does not affect its future usefulness. Radiography and tomography technologies are used to detect material faults inaccessible to direct observation. An industrial 7 degree-of-freedom manipulator has been installed in various x-ray and neutron imaging facilities, including the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, for imaging purposes. Inspection of numerous components manually is laborious and time consuming, and there is the risk of high radiation dose to the operator. As Low As Reasonably Achievable exposure can be significantly reduced by installing a robot in an x-ray or neutron imaging facility to perform part placement in the beam for radioactive parts and nuclear facilities. Automation has the additional potential benefit of improving part throughput by obviating the need for human personnel to move or exchange parts to be imaged and allowing for flexible orientation of the imaged object with respect to the x-ray or neutron beam. When the process is fully automated, it eliminates the need for a human to enter the beam area. The robot needs to meet certain performance requirements, including high repeatability, precision, stability, and accuracy. The robotic system must be able to precisely position and align parts, and parts need to be held still while the image is taken. Any movement of the specimen during exposure causes image blurring. Robotics and remote systems are an integral part of the ALARA approach to radiation safety. Robots increase the distance between workers and hazards and reduce time that workers must be exposed. Research performed aims to expand the role of automation at nuclear facilities by reducing the burden on human operators. The robot’s control system must manage collision detection, grasping, and motion planning to reduce the amount of time that an operator spends micro-managing such a system via tele-operation. The subject of this work includes modeling (in MCNP) and measuring flux, dose rates, and DPA rates of neutron imaging facilities to develop predictions of radiation flux, dose profiles, and radiation damage by examining neutron and gamma fields during operation. Dose and flux predictions provide users the means to simulate geometrical and material changes and additions to a facility, thus saving time, money, and energy in determining the optimal setup for the robotic system.Mechanical Engineerin

DRONE DELIVERY OF CBNRECy – DEW WEAPONS Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD)

Drone Delivery of CBNRECy – DEW Weapons: Emerging Threats of Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction and Disruption (WMDD) is our sixth textbook in a series covering the world of UASs and UUVs. Our textbook takes on a whole new purview for UAS / CUAS/ UUV (drones) – how they can be used to deploy Weapons of Mass Destruction and Deception against CBRNE and civilian targets of opportunity. We are concerned with the future use of these inexpensive devices and their availability to maleficent actors. Our work suggests that UASs in air and underwater UUVs will be the future of military and civilian terrorist operations. UAS / UUVs can deliver a huge punch for a low investment and minimize human casualties.https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/1046/thumbnail.jp

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included