Tracking Sharks With Robots

Scientists have been tracking sharks with robots for years, but a new design is able to do this while following the animal. The system was designed by biologists from Mote Marine Laboratory, and engineers from Harvey Mudd College using components that were readily available.

It has serious gripping power capable of enduring pull-off forces that are 340 times its own weight. It can also sense changes in objects and alter its direction to accommodate them.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are robots that can be programmed to operate according to the design they can drift or travel through the ocean without real-time human control. They are equipped with a range of sensors that record water parameters, and to explore and map the ocean's geological features, seafloor communities and habitats and much more.

They are controlled by a surface ship by using Wi-Fi or acoustic links to send data back to the operator. AUVS are able to collect temporal or spatial data, and are able to be used as a large team to cover more terrain faster than one vehicle.

AUVs are able to use GPS and the Global Navigation Satellite System to determine their position in the world, and the distance they've traveled from their starting position. This information, combined with sensors for the environment that send data to the computer systems onboard, allows AUVs to follow their intended course without losing sight of their destination.

After completing a research mission after completing a research project, the AUV will be able to float back to the surface. It can be then recovered by the research vessel from which it was launched. A resident AUV could be submerged for months and conduct regular inspections that are pre-programmed. In either scenario, the AUV will periodically surface to signal its location via an GPS signal or an acoustic beacon, which is transmitted to the surface ship.

Some AUVs communicate with their operator on a continuous basis via satellite links to the research ship. Scientists can continue their experiments on the ship while the AUV gathers data underwater. Other AUVs may communicate with their operators only at certain times, for instance, when they have to refill their tanks or to monitor the health of their sensor systems.

In addition to providing oceanographic information, AUVs can also be used to locate underwater resources such as natural gas and minerals, according to Free Think. They can also be utilized to assist in environmental disaster response and aid in search and rescue operations following oil spills or tsunamis. They can be used to monitor subsurface volcano activity and also the conditions of marine life, like whale populations or coral reefs.

Curious Robots

Contrary to traditional underwater robotics, which are programmed to search only for a specific feature on the ocean floor, curious underwater robots are designed so that they can look around and adapt to changing circumstances. This is important because the conditions beneath the waves can be unpredictable. For instance, if the temperature of the water suddenly increases it could alter the behavior of marine animals or even lead to an oil spill. Curious robots are designed to swiftly and efficiently detect these changes.

Researchers are working on a new robotic platform that makes use of reinforcement learning to train robots to be curious. The robot, which looks like a child in yellow clothing with a green hand, can be taught to recognize patterns, which could indicate an interesting discovery. It is also able to make decisions about what it should do next, in relation to the results of its previous actions. The findings of the study could be used to design an intelligent robot that is capable of learning and adapting itself to the changing environment.

Other researchers are using robotics with a curious nature to investigate areas of the ocean that are too dangerous for human divers. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) for instance has a robot named WARP-AUV, which is used to investigate wrecks of ships and to locate them. This robot can identify marine creatures, and distinguish semi-transparent jellyfish as well as fish from their dim backgrounds.

This is an impressive feat considering that it takes a long time for a human brain to do this job. The brain of the WARP-AUV has been conditioned by feeding it thousands of images of marine life making it able to recognize familiar species upon its first dive. The WARP-AUV is a marine forensics device which can also send live images of sea life and underwater scenes to supervisors on the surface.

Other teams are working to create robots that have the same curiosity as humans. For instance, a group led by the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering is exploring ways to teach robots to be curious about their surroundings. This team is part of a Honda Research Institute USA initiative to create curious machines.

Remote Missions

A myriad of uncertainties could result in the possibility of a mission failing. Scientists don't know for sure how long a mission will last and how well the components of the spacecraft will function, or if any other forces or objects could affect the operation of the spacecraft. The Remote Agent software is designed to help reduce the uncertainty. It will be able to perform a variety of the difficult tasks that ground control personnel perform if they were on DS1 during the mission.

The Remote Agent software system consists of a planner/scheduler as well as an executive. It also incorporates model-based reasoning algorithms. The planner/scheduler creates a set of time-based and event-based actions called tokens. These are then delivered to the executive. The executive decides how to expand the tokens into a series of commands which are sent directly to spacecraft.

During the test during the test, an DS1 crew member will be on hand to keep track of the progress of the Remote Agent and deal with any issues outside of the scope of the test. All regional bureaus should follow Department records management guidelines and maintain all documentation that is used to establish a specific remote mission.

REMUS SharkCam

Researchers have no idea of the actions of sharks below the surface. Scientists are cutting through the blue haze using an autonomous underwater vehicle known as the REMUS SharkCam. The results are both incredible and terrifying.

The SharkCam Team, a group of scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution took the SharkCam, a torpedo shaped camera and to Guadalupe Island to track and film white great sharks in their natural habitat. The 13 hours of video footage combined with visuals from acoustic tags attached to sharks, reveal details about the underwater behaviour of these predators.

The REMUS sharkCam, developed by Hydroid in Pocasset MA it was designed to follow the location of a tag without affecting their behavior or alarming them. It uses an multidirectional ultra-short baseline navigation device to determine the range, bearing, and depth of the shark, then closes in at a predetermined standoff distance and position (left or right, above or below) to capture it swimming and interacting with its environment. It can communicate with scientists at the surface every 20 seconds and respond to commands to alter speed and depth, as well as the standoff distance.

When Roger Stokey, REMUS SharkCam developer Roger Stokey, and Edgar Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, Pelagios Kakunja Shark RV2610WA: Advanced AI Robot Vacuum And Mop av2501ae ai robot vacuum: xl hepa base (https://www.robotvacuummops.com/products/shark-av2501ae-ai-robot-vacuum-xl-hepa-base) researcher of Mexico's Marine Conservation Society, first imagined tracking great whites using the self-propelled REMUS SharkCam torpedo, they worried that the torpedo might interfere with the sharks' movements and could even cause them to flee. Skomal and his colleagues, revealed in a recent article published in the Journal of Fish Biology that the SharkCam survived despite nine bumps and a biting attack from great whites that weighed several thousand pounds over a week of study near the coast of Guadalupe.

The researchers concluded that the sharks interactions with REMUS's SharkCam, which had been recording and tracking the activity of four tagged sharks, as predatory behavior. They recorded 30 Effortlessly Clean Your Home: Shark ION Robot Vacuum interactions with the robot including bumps, simple approaches and, on nine occasions, aggressive bites by sharks which appeared to be aimed at REMUS.