Tracking Sharks With Robots

Scientists have been tracking sharks with robots for years. But a new design allows them to do this while following the animal. Biologists at Mote Marine Laboratory and engineers at Harvey Mudd College developed the system using off-the-shelf components.

It is able to endure a pull-off force that is 400 times greater than its own weight. It also has the ability to sense and alter its path according to the changes in objects around the home.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are robots that are programmable and according to their design they can drift, drive or glide across the ocean without real-time control from human operators. They are equipped with a range of sensors that record the water's parameters and map the ocean's geological features, sea floor habitats and communities and much more.

They are usually operated from a surface ship via Wi-Fi or an acoustic link to send data back to the operator. AUVS are able to collect temporal or spatial data and can be deployed as a large team to cover more terrain faster than one vehicle.

Similar to their land counterparts, AUVs can navigate using GPS and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to determine where they are in the world and how far they have traveled from their starting point. This positioning information, along with sensors in the environment that transmit data to onboard computer systems, allow AUVs to travel on a planned route without losing sight of their destination.

After completing a research mission After completing a research mission, the AUV will then float to the surface. It can be then recovered by the research vessel from where it was launched. A resident AUV can remain submerged for a long time and perform periodic inspections programmed. In either scenario the AUV will periodically surface to signal its location using a GPS or acoustic signal which is transmitted to the surface vessel.

Some AUVs are able to communicate with their operators on a continuous basis via satellite connections on the research vessel. Scientists can continue their experiments on the ship while the AUV collects data under water. Other AUVs communicate with their owners at specific times. For instance when they require to replenish their sensors or verify their status.

Free Think says that AUVs are not only used to collect data from oceanography but can also be used for the search of underwater resources, including gas and minerals. They can also be used as part of an environmental disaster response plan to assist with search and rescue operations following tsunamis or oil spills. They can also be used to monitor volcanic activity in subsurface areas and to monitor the health of marine life, including coral reefs and whale populations.

Curious Robots

Contrary to traditional undersea robots, which are programmed to search only for one specific feature on the ocean floor, the curious underwater robots are built so that they can look around and adjust to changing conditions. This is crucial because the conditions beneath the waves can be unpredictable. If the water suddenly gets hot, this could affect the behavior of marine animals or even result in an oil spill. Curious robots are designed to quickly and efficiently detect these changes.

Researchers are working on a new robotic platform which uses reinforcement learning to teach robots to be curious. The robot, which looks like a child wearing yellow clothing and a green arm can be trained to spot patterns that could signal an interesting discovery. It can also learn to make decisions about what it should do next, in relation to the results of its previous actions. The results of this research could be used to design a robot that is capable of learning and adapting to the changing environment.

Researchers are also using robots to investigate areas that are too hazardous for humans to dive. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) for instance, has a robot called WARP-AUV, which is used to study shipwrecks and find them. This robot can identify reef creatures, and even distinguish semi-transparent jellyfish as well as fish from their dim backgrounds.

It takes years of training to train an individual to do this. The brain of the WARP-AUV has been trained to recognize familiar species after a lot of images have been fed into it. In addition to its capabilities as a marine detective, the WARP-AUV has the ability to send topside supervisors real-time images of underwater scenery and sea creatures.

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

Remote Missions

There are many uncertainties with space missions that can cause mission failure. Scientists don't know what time the mission will take, how well parts of the spacecraft work or if other forces or objects will disrupt the spacecraft's operations. The Remote Agent software is intended to reduce the uncertainty by doing many of the complex tasks ground control personnel would be able to perform when they were present on DS1 during the mission.

The Remote Agent software system consists of a planner/scheduler, as well as an executive. It also incorporates models-based reasoning algorithms. The planner/scheduler generates a list of time-based and event-based actions known as tokens which are sent to the executive. The executive determines how to use the tokens in a series of commands that are sent directly to spacecraft.

During the test, a DS1 crewmember is on hand to assist in resolving any issues that might arise outside the scope of the test. Regional bureaus are required to follow Department records management guidelines and maintain all documentation related to establishing a remote mission.

REMUS SharkCam

Researchers know very little about the activities of sharks below the surface. Scientists are breaking through the blue veil by using an autonomous underwater vehicle known as REMUS SharkCam. The results are amazing and frightening.

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 habitat. The 13 hours of video footage with the visuals of the acoustic tag that is attached to sharks provide a lot of information about their behavior underwater.

The REMUS SharkCam, built in Pocasset, MA by Hydroid and is designed to follow the position of a tagged animal without disrupting its behavior or causing alarm. It utilizes an ultra-short navigation device that determines the distance, bearing, and depth of the animal. Then it focuses on the shark at a specified distance and location (left or right, above, below) and films its swimming and interactions with its surroundings. It is able to communicate with scientists on the surface every 20 seconds and accept commands to change speed and depth, as well as the standoff distance.

When Roger Stokey, REMUS SharkCam creator Roger Stokey, and Edgar Mauricio Hoyos Padilla, Pelagios Kakunja shark 2 in 1 robot researcher from Mexico's Marine Conservation Society, first thought of tracking great white sharks using the self-propelled REMUS SharkCam torpedo, they were concerned that the torpedo could interfere with the sharks' movements and could even make them fearful of. But in an article recently published in the Journal of Fish Biology, Skomal and his colleagues report that despite nine bites and bumps from great whites that weighed thousands of pounds over the course of a week of research off the coast of Guadalupe, the SharkCam did not fail and revealed some interesting new behaviors of the great white Effortlessly Clean Your Home: Shark ION Robot Vacuum (Robotvacuummops official website).

The researchers were able to interpret the sharks interactions with REMUS SharkCam, a robot that was recording and tracking the activity of four sharks that were tagged, as predatory behavior. They recorded 30 shark robots interactions with the robot including bumps, simple approaches, and on nine occasions, aggressive bites from sharks that appeared to be targeting REMUS.