Advances on Underwater Robotics and Automation

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Robotics and Automation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 March 2022) | Viewed by 10948

Special Issue Editor

Computer Science and Engineering Department, Universitat Jaume, Castelló de la Plana, Spain
Interests: underwater robotics; underwater automation; robotics in hazardous environments; telerobotics; human–robot interfaces for robotic interventions; networked robots

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Robotics and Automation in hazardous environments (e.g., fire, radioactivity, underwater) is a research line that still neddsva big amount of research in order to perform the required operations in a safe and reliable manner. Specially, underwater robotics and automation has significant and specific problems to be solved such as networking, data compression, human-robot interfaces, engineering, control systems, and computer science algorithms, among others. This Special Issue focuses on novel scientific solutions to face real robotics and automation problems in underwater scenarios, and also systems that might have application in underwater systems, having obtained results in related environments, such as fire and radiation, among others.

Dr. Raúl Marín Prades
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • underwater robotics
  • underwater automation
  • hazardous environments
  • network systems
  • sensors
  • HRI
  • control
  • computer science
  • applications
  • fishing plants
  • marine energy
  • cooperative robotics

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 4058 KiB  
Article
Estimation System of Disturbance Force and Torque for Underwater Robot Based on Artificial Lateral Line
by Song Kang, Wusheng Chou and Junhao Yu
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(6), 3060; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12063060 - 17 Mar 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1512
Abstract
The motion-control precision of a shallow-sea underwater robot is seriously affected by external disturbances such as wind, waves and ocean currents. Due to the lack of a specialized disturbance-sensor system, the disturbance force and torque cannot be sensed effectively. Inspired by bionics, an [...] Read more.
The motion-control precision of a shallow-sea underwater robot is seriously affected by external disturbances such as wind, waves and ocean currents. Due to the lack of a specialized disturbance-sensor system, the disturbance force and torque cannot be sensed effectively. Inspired by bionics, an artificial lateral-line system for estimating external disturbances of an underwater robot is presented in this paper. In the system, the pressure of water is first collected through the pressure-sensor array. Then, the pressure data is processed by a series of algorithms, and the disturbance force and torque are observed from the data. Both multiple linear regression and the artificial neural network method are used to fit the mathematical models of the disturbances. Finally, the system is validated experimentally to be effective and practical. The underwater robot senses the disturbance force and torque from the water indirectly through the artificial lateral-line system, which will improve the accuracy of motion control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Underwater Robotics and Automation)
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30 pages, 77065 KiB  
Article
Cooperative and Multimodal Capabilities Enhancement in the CERNTAURO Human–Robot Interface for Hazardous and Underwater Scenarios
by Carlos Veiga Almagro, Giacomo Lunghi, Mario Di Castro, Diego Centelles Beltran, Raúl Marín Prades, Alessandro Masi and Pedro J. Sanz
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(17), 6144; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10176144 - 03 Sep 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2950
Abstract
The use of remote robotic systems for inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments is a priority for all tasks potentially dangerous for humans. However, currently available robotic systems lack that level of usability which would allow inexperienced operators to accomplish complex tasks. Moreover, [...] Read more.
The use of remote robotic systems for inspection and maintenance in hazardous environments is a priority for all tasks potentially dangerous for humans. However, currently available robotic systems lack that level of usability which would allow inexperienced operators to accomplish complex tasks. Moreover, the task’s complexity increases drastically when a single operator is required to control multiple remote agents (for example, when picking up and transporting big objects). In this paper, a system allowing an operator to prepare and configure cooperative behaviours for multiple remote agents is presented. The system is part of a human–robot interface that was designed at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, to perform remote interventions in its particle accelerator complex, as part of the CERNTAURO project. In this paper, the modalities of interaction with the remote robots are presented in detail. The multimodal user interface enables the user to activate assisted cooperative behaviours according to a mission plan. The multi-robot interface has been validated at CERN in its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) mockup using a team of two mobile robotic platforms, each one equipped with a robotic manipulator. Moreover, great similarities were identified between the CERNTAURO and the TWINBOT projects, which aim to create usable robotic systems for underwater manipulations. Therefore, the cooperative behaviours were validated within a multi-robot pipe transport scenario in a simulated underwater environment, experimenting more advanced vision techniques. The cooperative teleoperation can be coupled with additional assisted tools such as vision-based tracking and grasping determination of metallic objects, and communication protocols design. The results show that the cooperative behaviours enable a single user to face a robotic intervention with more than one robot in a safer way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Underwater Robotics and Automation)
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18 pages, 19209 KiB  
Article
Actuator Weak Fault Diagnosis in Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Based on Tri-Stable Stochastic Resonance
by Yang Jiang, Bo He, Jia Guo, Pengfei Lv, Xiaokai Mu, Xin Zhang and Fei Yu
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(6), 2048; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10062048 - 18 Mar 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2140
Abstract
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is mainly used in the development and exploration of the ocean. As an important module of the AUV, the actuator plays an important role in the normal execution of the AUV. Therefore, the fault diagnosis of the actuator [...] Read more.
The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is mainly used in the development and exploration of the ocean. As an important module of the AUV, the actuator plays an important role in the normal execution of the AUV. Therefore, the fault diagnosis of the actuator is particularly important. At present, the research on the strong faults, such as the winding of the actuator, has achieved good results, but the research on the weak fault diagnosis is relatively rare. In this paper, the tri-stable stochastic resonance model is analyzed, and the ant colony tri-stable stochastic resonance model is used to diagnose the weak fault. The system accurately diagnoses the fault of the actuator collision and verifies the adaptive tri-stable stochastic resonance system. This model has better diagnostic results than the bi-stable stochastic resonance system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Underwater Robotics and Automation)
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12 pages, 3685 KiB  
Article
An Underwater Vector Propulsion Device Based on the RS+2PRS Parallel Mechanism and Its Attitude Control Algorithm
by Rui Wang, Xiangyu Guo and Shisheng Zhong
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(23), 5210; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app9235210 - 29 Nov 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3549
Abstract
In order to overcome the disadvantages of some existing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), such as actuator extraposition and degree-of-freedom (DOF) redundancy, a 2-DOF vector propeller propulsion system with built-in actuator based on the deficient DOF parallel mechanism is proposed. The RS+2PRS (Revolute-Spherical+ Prismatic-Revolute-Spherical) [...] Read more.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of some existing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), such as actuator extraposition and degree-of-freedom (DOF) redundancy, a 2-DOF vector propeller propulsion system with built-in actuator based on the deficient DOF parallel mechanism is proposed. The RS+2PRS (Revolute-Spherical+ Prismatic-Revolute-Spherical) parallel mechanism is used as the main structure, and the driving parts are placed in the interior of the AUV cabin, which is beneficial to the sealing and protection of the propulsion system. In addition, the motion parameters decoupling shows that the two independent parameters are the precession angle and the nutation angle of the propeller installation platform. Therefore, the attitude control algorithm uses two prismatic joints as driving units to establish the nonlinear mapping model with the two Euler attitude angles. In the end, the simulation analysis and the real device are used to verify the feasibility of the attitude control algorithm and the in situ adjustment function of the propeller, which lays the theoretical foundation for engineering applications in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Underwater Robotics and Automation)
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