Vision System for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Using Wireless Camera for Monitoring and Surveillances Application

This paper present the new design of vision system for autonomous underwater vehicle with the implementation of wireless camera, whereby, produce clearer image. The major obstacle faced by underwater vision system is the extreme loss of color and contrast when submerged to any significant depth whereby the image quality produced is low. Therefore, as to obtain clearer images, several investigations will be done in order to know the appropriate distance required between the images with the camera. At the end of the project, the new design of the vision system will be well functioned and can be applied to capture clearly the underwater images and also might be used to explore the nature of underwater. This new vision system also could be used for monitoring, surveillances, and maintenance tasks for underwater where it is risky for the human to work in it

Augmenting the Pressure-Based Pasteurization of Listeria monocytogenes by Synergism with Nisin and Mild Heat

The current study investigated Listeria monocytogenes inactivation using mild heat with elevated hydrostatic pressure and nisin under buffered condition. A four-strain pathogen mixture was exposed to 0 (control) and up to 9 min of (1) 4 °C elevated pressure; (2) 4 °C elevated pressure and nisin; (3) 4 °C nisin; (4) heat at 40 °C; (5) 40 °C elevated pressure; (6) 40 °C elevated pressure and nisin; and (7) 40 °C nisin. Elevated hydrostatic pressure at 400 MPa (Hub880 Explorer, Pressure BioScience Inc., Easton, MA, USA) and nisin concentration of 5000 IU/mL were used in the trials. Analyses of variance were conducted, followed by Dunnett’s- and Tukey-adjusted means separations. Under conditions of these experiments, nisin augmented (p \u3c 0.05) decontamination efficacy of 40 °C heat and elevated hydrostatic pressure treatments, particularly at treatment interval of 3 min. This synergism with nisin faded away (p ≥ 0.05) as the treatment time for thermal, high-pressure, and thermal-assisted pressure processing increased. The results of our study, thus, exhibit that practitioners and stakeholders of pressure-based technologies could benefit from synergism of mild heat and nisin for short-term, high-pressure pasteurization treatments to achieve microbial safety and economic feasibility comparable to traditional heat-treated products

Fate and Biofilm Formation of Wild-Type and Pressure-Stressed Pathogens of Public Health Concern in Surface Water and on Abiotic Surfaces

Since the historic outbreak near Broad Street in London, which serves as cornerstone of modern epidemiology, infectious diseases spread in surface and sub-surface water has been a persisting public health challenge. The current study investigated persistence of wild-type and pressure-stressed Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica serovars in surface water stored aerobically for up to 28 days at 5, 25, and 37 °C. Additionally, biofilm formation of wild-type and pressure-stressed non-typhoidal Salmonella serovars were monitored on surface of stainless steel and rubber coupons for 28 days at 25 and 37 °C. While L. monocytogenes exhibited a lower (p \u3c 0.05) survival rate at 5 °C, relative to the two Gram-negative pathogens, at higher temperatures of 25 and 37 °C, all three pathogens exhibited similar (p ≥ 0.05) trends for survival in surface water. Both wild-type and pressure-stressed Salmonella serovars in the vast majority of tested times, temperatures, and surfaces exhibited comparable (p ≥ 0.05) persistence and biofilm formation capability. Our study thus indicates the occurrence of contamination could lead to prolonged survival of these microorganisms in low-nutrient environments and highlights the need for preventive measures such as those articulated under Produce Safety Rule of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act

Sensitivity of Planktonic Cells of Staphylococcus aureus to Elevated Hydrostatic Pressure as Affected by Mild Heat, Carvacrol, Nisin, and Caprylic Acid

Current study investigated effects of elevated hydrostatic pressure exposure in the presence of mild heat and natural antimicrobials against Staphylococcus aureus. Hydrostatic pressure of 350 to 550 MPa with nisin (5000 IU/mL), carvacrol, or caprylic acid (0.5% v/v) were applied for the reduction in four-strain mixture of S. aureus in HEPES buffer at 4 and 40 °C for up to 7 min. Results were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and D-values were additionally calculated using best-fitted linear model. Prior to exposure to treatments at 4 °C, counts of the pathogen were 7.95 ± 0.4 log CFU/mL and were reduced (p \u3c 0.05) to 6.44 ± 0.3 log CFU/mL after 7 min of treatment at 450 MPa. D-value associated with this treatment was 5.34 min (R2 = 0.72). At 40 °C, counts were 8.21 ± 0.7 and 5.77 ± 0.3 log CFU/mL before and after the 7-min treatments, respectively. D-value associated with 40 °C treatment was 3.30 min (R2 = 0.62). Application of the antimicrobials provided additional pathogen reduction augmentation for treatments \u3c 5 min. The results of the current study could be incorporated for meeting regulatory requirements such as Food Code, HACCP, and Preventive Control for Human Food of Food Safety Modernization Act for assuring microbiological safety of products against this prevalent pathogen of public health concern

Obstacle Avoidance System for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle using Fin System

An underwater glider is a type of an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). The movement of an underwater glider in the water is based on the buoyancy-propelled for float and fixed-winged for stabilizing the glider’s body. However, a fixed wing underwater glider has limitation to avoid hitting the obstacle in front of it. To overcome this problem, the application of fin system in underwater glider is needed. In this project, a methodology was introduced which is design a flexible fin system of an underwater glider for obstacle avoidance purpose. This project mainly focused on SolidWorks’s simulation and analysis of -30°, -45°, -60° for submerge and rise up at 30°, 45°, 60° to get the most suitable angle for the glider’s fin system to submerge and rise up. The UTeM underwater glider is modified from fixed to flexible wing. Hence, Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC) is used to program the movement of the glider’s wings for upward at 45°and downward at -45°in the water. Thus,a flexible fin system for obstacle avoidance is designed and applied in UTeM underwater glider

Development and Modeling of Water Tank System using System Identification Method

This paper presents the development and modeling of Water Tank System (WTS) for temperature control using system identification technique. The WTS consists of the tank with 30 liter water, a stirrer, heater and thermocouple was powered by 240VDC and the system run by LabView software. The stirrer used to stabilize the water temperature that installed on the top cover of the WTS. In this project, a prototype of the WTS will be developed first. The WTS will be tested on an open loop system to obtain measured input-output signals. Input and output signals from the system are recorded and analyzed to infer a model. Then, system identification toolbox in MATLAB will be applied to generate a model of the WTS. The experimental testing of WTS only considered in temperature control. The modeling obtained will be used to design the a suitable controller for temperature control. The most crucial issue is the control system. It is needed for the WTS to perform the desired temperature setting. The objective of this project is to reduce or eliminate the overshoot of system response from temperature setting. The conventional controller PID and Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) will be used to control the temperature so that the temperature will maintain its desired temperature. The result shows that FLC is the better performance of system response in term of overshoot and oscillation

Auto depth control for underwater remotely operated vehicles using a flexible ballast tank system

This paper describes the development of autodepth control using a flexible ballast tank system for underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) that is commonly used in underwater application, such as monitoring, surveying and researching activities. Since the ROV design must be able to submerge and emerge, buoyancy control is needed. However, it is difficult to get the ROV to maintain at a constant depth for it to perform a desired task using the thruster system. This is because the power consumptions and saturated at certain depths depend closely on the design of thruster for the ROV. Thus, the ROV needs to have an auto depth control to maintain their depth so that all activities such as collecting data, monitoring and surveying at a constant specific depth can be carried out with minimum power consumption. This research attempts to design an auto depth control using a flexible ballast tank system for the ROV equipped with a pressure sensor as a depth sensor. The flexible ballast tank system is based on the principle of the pump that adopts the inlet or outlet water inside the tank by controlling the polarity of the pump regulated by a relay that acts like a switch. The switch is used to control the flow of current and activate the coil when it is triggered. The pressure sensor from a model MPX4250GP has been used and it functions as the depth sensors that send signal to PIC to execute the function of relay for controlling the pump’s polarity. In dealing with the controlling part, PIC is used as the microcontroller interface to program the relay function. There are two major phases in developing the auto depth system for the flexible ballast tanks: the hardware and software designs that consist of mechanical design and programming. The ROV will be tested in a laboratory pool to get the data that will be analyzed. This ROV is proven to be able to control the desired depth of 1 meter by controlling the flow of water inside the flexible ballast tank with minimized power consumptions

Synchronization of Compass Module with Pressure and Temperature Sensor System for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)

This paper describes the synchronization of compass module with pressure and temperature sensor system for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). In general this project is the result of a combination of existing technology for underwater sensory to produce a complete system that aims to identify the position of the AUVs based on AUV degree of freedom. This can be done with the help of compass module that can find and order the AUV is moving at a fixed angle. This created a system that aims to obtain data on pressure and temperature in the AUV. Not only that, the project also aims to prove that the relationship between pressure and depth of the water and the relationship between pressure and temperature. All data gathered is capable of helping in the preparation of an AUV that can accommodate high pressure according to the depth to destination

Synchronization of Compass Module with Pressure and Temperature Sensor System for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)

This paper describes the synchronization of compass module with pressure and temperature sensor system for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). In general this project is the result of a combination of existing technology for underwater sensory to produce a complete system that aims to identify the position of the AUVs based on AUV degree of freedom. This can be done with the help of compass module that can find and order the AUV is moving at a fixed angle. This created a system that aims to obtain data on pressure and temperature in the AUV. Not only that, the project also aims to prove that the relationship between pressure and depth of the water and the relationship between pressure and temperature. All data gathered is capable of helping in the preparation of an AUV that can accommodate high pressure according to the depth to destination

Performances Evaluation and Comparison of Two Algorithms for Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooking System (MATLAB Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and FuzzyTECH)

This paper presents an evaluation of performances rice cooking system with using Intelligent Controller that is Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) to meet the special requirements and some limitations of the rice cooking system. A new inference scheme is given to estimate the amount of rice and water to be used, and the temperature will be controlled according to the amount of rice and the time while cooking. The FLC system is designed by using two types of simulation software which are MATLAB Fuzzy Logic Toolbox and FuzzyTECH. The results obtained from the both simulation software are given in this paper. The differences the between both simulation also will be discussed. MATLAB Toolbox gives more specific results compared FuzzyTECHsoftware. The both software meet the special requirements because is not much differ between each other