Application of a Design for Excellence Methodology for a Wireless Charger Housing in Underwater Environments

A major effort is put into the production of green energy as a countermeasure to climatic changes and sustainability. Thus, the energy industry is currently betting on offshore wind energy, using wind turbines with fixed and floating platforms. This technology can benefit greatly from interventive autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to assist in the maintenance and control of underwater structures. A wireless charger system can extend the time the AUV remains underwater, by allowing it to charge its batteries through a docking station. The present work details the development process of a housing component for a wireless charging system to be implemented in an AUV, addressed as wireless charger housing (WCH), from the concept stage to the final physical verification and operation stage. The wireless charger system prepared in this research aims to improve the longevity of the vehicle mission, without having to return to the surface, by enabling battery charging at a docking station. This product was designed following a design for excellence (DfX) and modular design philosophy, implementing visual scorecards to measure the success of certain design aspects. For an adequate choice of materials, the Ashby method was implemented. The structural performance of the prototypes was validated via a linear static finite element analysis (FEA). These prototypes were further physically verified in a hyperbaric chamber. Results showed that the application of FEA, together with well-defined design goals, enable the WCH optimisation while ensuring up to 75% power efficiency. This methodology produced a system capable of transmitting energy for underwater robotic applications.This work is funded by the European Commission under the European Union’s Horizon 2020—The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation 2014–2020, under grant agreement No. 871571 (ATLANTIS).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Proteus: Mini underwater remotely operated vehicle

Marine ecosystems contain life, minerals, information, etc, that can help the planet, however, only 5% of them are explored. This is mainly because existing Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are expensive and require a lot of workand time to use. Team Proteus designed a low cost, easy to use, portable, safe, and reliable ROV capable of being used for scientific research, while being operated and maintained by students. In this paper we explain the necessity behind this project, how it compares to similar projects and the design decisions made in developing the ROV, to include the options and trade-offs considered. We also present project budgets, the final design, and results of our field tests

Magnetoactive Elastomer Solenoid Development and Implementation in Underwater Jet Propulsion

The objective of this research was to develop and implement an elastomer solenoid capable of generating underwater jet propulsion for soft robot actuation. This is significant in pushing forward the progress of soft robotics by proving the viability of a new soft actuation method in addition to proving the viability of using silicone and magnetic particles as the driving mechanism for a soft actuator. The two primary aims were to effectively manufacture an elastomer solenoid core and to incorporate that core with a flexible diaphragm that actuates when a voltage is applied. This combination creates a pulse of water that is pumped out of an orifice. In practice, this was a success. The propagated magnetic field in the elastomer core was very apparent in air and displacements of 2.7 cm could be achieved for a 100 mm wide diaphragm. Underwater, the added damping force of the fluid limited the displacement of the diaphragm, however; the final device was able to pump water at 250 ml/min out of an orifice

High-Speed, Heavy-Load, and Direction-Controllable Photothermal Pneumatic Floating Robot.

Light-fueled actuators are promising in many fields due to their contactless, easily controllable, and eco-efficiency features. However, their application in liquid environments is complicated by the existing challenges of rapid deformation in liquids, light absorption of the liquid media, and environmental contamination. Here, we design a photothermal pneumatic floating robot (PPFR) using a boat-paddle structure. Light energy is converted into thermal energy of air by an isolated photothermal composite, which is then converted into mechanical energy of liquid to drive the movement of PPFRs. By understanding and controlling the photothermal actuation, the PPFR can achieve an average velocity of 13.1 mm s-1 in water and can be modified for remote on-demand differential steering and self-sustained oscillation. The PPFR may be modified to provide a lifting mechanism, capable of moving 4 times the PPFR mass. Various shapes and materials are suitable for the PPFR, providing a platform for liquid surface transporting, water sampling, pollutant collecting, underwater photography, and photocontrol robots in shallow water

Design and Evaluation of a Propulsion System for Small, Compact, Low-Speed Maneuvering Underwater Vehicles

Underwater vehicles used to perform precision inspection and non-destructive evaluation in tightly constrained or delicate underwater environments must be small, have low-speed maneuverability and a smooth streamlined outer shape with no appendages. In this thesis, the design and analysis of a new propulsion system for such underwater vehicles is presented. It consists primarily of a syringe and a plunger driven by a linear actuator and uses different inflow and outflow nozzles to provide continuous propulsive force. A prototype of the proposed propulsion mechanism is built and tested. The practical utility and potential efficacy of the system is demonstrated and assessed via direct thrust measurement experiments and by use of an initial proof-of-concept test vehicle. Experiments are performed to enable the evaluation and modelling of the thrust output of the mechanism as well as the speed capability of a vehicle employing the propulsion system

Renewable Energy Powered Autonomous Smart Ocean Surface Vehicles (REASOSE)

The REASOSE is not just an Ocean surface vehicle, its poly-type smart autonomous propulsion which eliminates the limitations of existing surface vehicles (remotely operated). The renewable energy source always proved to be abundance of availability in the environment, since the power created through renewable source with loss is engineering acceptance which can immobilise the vehicle. But REASOSE is a unique vehicle with poly-type propulsion incorporated with different renewable sources from the environment which furnishes the consistency of the vehicle inevitable. The REASOSE is a smart intelligent system of vehicle that autonomously switch over to the efficient propulsion as per the availability and in kind of any hindrances the vehicle acts smartly and reaches its destination contiguously. The proposed project novelty is not only stick to a line, the proposed vehicle serves to be change over for versatile applications, the vehicle will be incorporated with high definition live transmitted camera serves for coastal surveillance, deep sea monitoring and so on. The integrated CTD, ADCP and other oceanographic sensors can be a changeover in data collection at different area at required region and time. The stack-up space provides the transportation during unconditional or conditional mode of cargo transfer to required destination

Renewable Energy Powered Autonomous Smart Ocean Surface Vehicles (REASOSE)

The REASOSE is not just an Ocean surface vehicle, its poly-type smart autonomous propulsion which eliminates the limitations of existing surface vehicles (remotely operated). The renewable energy source always proved to be abundance of availability in the environment, since the power created through renewable source with loss is engineering acceptance which can immobilise the vehicle. But REASOSE is a unique vehicle with poly-type propulsion incorporated with different renewable sources from the environment which furnishes the consistency of the vehicle inevitable. The REASOSE is a smart intelligent system of vehicle that autonomously switch over to the efficient propulsion as per the availability and in kind of any hindrances the vehicle acts smartly and reaches its destination contiguously. The proposed project novelty is not only stick to a line, the proposed vehicle serves to be change over for versatile applications, the vehicle will be incorporated with high definition live transmitted camera serves for coastal surveillance, deep sea monitoring and so on. The integrated CTD, ADCP and other oceanographic sensors can be a changeover in data collection at different area at required region and time. The stack-up space provides the transportation during unconditional or conditional mode of cargo transfer to required destination

Autonomous Soft Robotic Fish Capable of Escape Maneuvers Using Fluidic Elastomer Actuators

In this work we describe an autonomous soft-bodied robot that is both self-contained and capable of rapid, continuum-body motion. We detail the design, modeling, fabrication, and control of the soft fish, focusing on enabling the robot to perform rapid escape responses. The robot employs a compliant body with embedded actuators emulating the slender anatomical form of a fish. In addition, the robot has a novel fluidic actuation system that drives body motion and has all the subsystems of a traditional robot onboard: power, actuation, processing, and control. At the core of the fish's soft body is an array of fluidic elastomer actuators. We design the fish to emulate escape responses in addition to forward swimming because such maneuvers require rapid body accelerations and continuum-body motion. These maneuvers showcase the performance capabilities of this self-contained robot. The kinematics and controllability of the robot during simulated escape response maneuvers are analyzed and compared with studies on biological fish. We show that during escape responses, the soft-bodied robot has similar input–output relationships to those observed in biological fish. The major implication of this work is that we show soft robots can be both self-contained and capable of rapid body motion.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF IIS1226883)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF CCF1138967)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (1122374

Design and construction of a modular pump-jet thruster for autonomous surface vehicle operations in extremely shallow water

open5noThis paper describes a customized thruster for Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV). The thruster is a Pump-Jet Module (PJM), which has been expressly designed, modeled, constructed, and tested for small-/medium-sized ASVs that perform environmental monitoring in extremely shallow waters such as wetlands (rivers, lakes, swamps, marshes), where water depth is only a few centimeters. The PJM is a fully-electric propulsion unit with a 360-degree continuous steering capability. Its main advantage is that the unit is flush with the flat bottom of the vehicle. This makes the PJM suitable for operation in extremely shallow waters because the risk of damaging the thrusting unit in case of grounding is very limited. The PJM was produced using innovative materials, and the hydraulic components were all constructed using a 3D printer.openOdetti A.; Altosole M.; Bruzzone G.; Caccia M.; Viviani M.Odetti, Angelo; Altosole, M.; Bruzzone, G.; Caccia, M.; Viviani, M