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POLARPROG-Polarforskningsprogram

OASYS - Ocean-Air synoptic operations using coordinated autonomous robotic SYStems and micro underwater gliders

Alternative title: OASYS - Ocean-Air synoptic operations using coordinated autonomous robotic SYStems and micro underwater gliders

Awarded: NOK 6.8 mill.

One of the barriers towards a better understanding and sustainable development of marine related economic activity is the high cost associated with ocean observing systems. Autonomous robotic systems are steadily revolutionizing the way we obtain data and interact with the ocean. However, most of existing autonomous systems still require the involvement of manned missions in the deployment/recovery phases which represents a high percentage of the total operational costs. The OASYS project aimed at demonstrating an innovative type of fully automated Ocean-Air coordinated robotic operation with the potential for drastically reducing the cost of ocean observing systems. The project proposed the development of a swarm of low-cost Miniature Underwater Gliders (MUGs) that can operate autonomously with the support of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) for deployment, recovery, battery charging, and communication relay. The system reduces human intervention to the minimum, revolutionizing the affordability of a broad range of surveillance and data collection operations. Two different mission scenarios were proposed: In the first, base stations are located onshore, or on existing offshore platforms. This scenario suits coastal monitoring, and continuous environmental monitoring around oil and gas offshore platforms. In the second scenario, a long endurance wave powered USVs serves as base station for UAV and a swarm of MUGs. This allows to extend the capabilities of long range USVs with the possibility of adding multiple simultaneous observations in the water column at a fraction of their cost. The technologies developed through the project enable the creation of future products, solutions, and scientific research, related to the commercialization of the autonomous observing systems and the generated data. The project included field experiments in Oslofjord, Trondheim fjord, and in a tidewater glacier in Svalbard, Norway. One of the main results of the project is the development of a miniature underwater glider (MUG) prototype. A lightweight carbon fiber pressure hull has been designed and successfully tested in laboratory conditions to an equivalent depth of 1000m. A variable buoyancy system (VBS) has been developed which makes use of lightweight and small sized components, and has been tested in laboratory conditions to an equivalent depth of 1000m. The tests were used to characterize optimal operating conditions in terms of energy efficiency, and selection of components. A low power long range communication system based on 4G mobile phone network (NB-IoT / LTE-M), Wifi, and miniature Iridium satellite modem has been developed, which can offer inexpensive communication coverage on coastal and fjord areas. The main electronics system of the glider has been designed. One of the pursued areas of research is that of exploring the performance limits of navigation systems with limited sensor suites. The miniature glider is in principle not equipped with a DVL/acoustic positioning which makes navigation a challenging task. The project team has performed research in the use of machine learning methods that can improve dead reckoning by learning vehicle dynamics during pre-defined experiments. A final prototype of underwater glider was tested in Oslofjord, where the pitch/roll functionality and VBS system was validated. To locate the MUG, a special marker was designed, which is recognized by the UAV camera-vision system. The detectability of the marker on water, land, and artificial surfaces has been successfully verified in a series of flights in various lighting conditions and at different altitudes. The early pick-up mechanism concept was verified in-flight but proved to require a major redesign. A new design proves better results but is yet to be tested in water environment. An UAV software toolchain has been configured allowing for a stepwise development including simplified in-door testing, simulation-in-the-loop, and outdoor flights using a range of multirotor platforms. A prototype of miniature fluorimeter has been developed by TriOS and integrated in the glider. A miniature high accuracy CT sensor has also been integrated. The sensors are lightweight, have small housing and an extremely low power drain. The fluorometer is attached as an external payload for an easy exchange since the operations will be different and the fluorometers needs to be adapted to these. A preliminary version of a cloud-based monitoring and control software infrastructure has been developed. This makes use of google cloud services and can be used to monitor, control, and mission programming from a web interface.

The OASYS project is an international collaboration with partners from Norway (OsloMet, NTNU, NPI) and Germany (TriOS gmbh). The project has produced a total of 12 research publications, and included 5 Master thesis, and 1 PhD thesis. The project members are also working on the commercialization of research results which include the creation of up to two new startup companies.

One of the barriers towards a better understanding and sustainable development of marine related economic activity is the high cost associated with ocean observing systems. Autonomous robotic systems are steadily revolutionizing the way we obtain data and interact with the ocean. However most of existing autonomous systems still require the involvement of manned missions in the deployment/recovery phases which represents a high percentage of the total operational costs. The OASYS project will develop and demonstrate an innovative type of fully automated Ocean-Air coordinated robotic operation that has the potential for drastically reducing the cost of ocean observing systems. The project proposes the development of a swarm of low cost Micro Underwater Gliders (MUGs) that can operate autonomously with the support of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Unmanned Surface Vessels (USVs) for deployment, recovery, battery charging, and communication relay. The system reduces human intervention to the minimum, revolutionizing the affordability of a broad range of surveillance and data collection operations. Two different mission scenarios are proposed: In the first, base stations are located onshore, or on existing offshore platforms. This scenario suits coastal monitoring, and continuous environmental monitoring around oil and gas offshore platforms. In the second scenario, a long endurance wave powered USVs serves as base station for UAV and a swarm of MUGs. This allows to extend existing long range USVs with the possibility of adding persistent synoptic observations in the water column at a fraction of their cost. The technologies developed through the project will enable the creation of future products, solutions, and scientific research, related to the commercialization of the autonomous observing systems and the generated data. The proposed observing systems will be demonstrated during sea trials in Trondheim fjord and in a tidewater glacier in Svalbard, Norway.

Funding scheme:

POLARPROG-Polarforskningsprogram