An Easy-To-Follow Guide To Choosing Your Robotic Shark

Tracking Sharks With Robots

Scientists have been tracking sharks with robots for years, but a new design is able to do this while tracking the animal. Biologists from Mote Marine Laboratory and engineers at Harvey Mudd College developed the system using components from the shelf.

It is able to resist a pull-off force of that is 340 times stronger than its own weight. It can also sense changes in objects and adjust its course in line with the changes.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)

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

They are controlled by a surface ship by using Wi-Fi or acoustic links to transmit data back to the operator. AUVS can be used to collect temporal or spatial data and can be used as a large team to cover a larger area faster than one vehicle.

AUVs can use GPS and the Global Navigation Satellite System to determine where they are in the world, and how far they've traveled from their starting location. This information, in conjunction with sensors for the environment that send information to computers onboard, allows AUVs to follow their route without losing sight of the goal.

When a research mission is completed after completing a research project, the AUV will be able to float back to the surface. It can be retrieved by the research vessel from the vessel from which it was launched. Or an AUV with a resident status can remain underwater and conduct regular pre-programmed inspections for a period of months. In either scenario, the AUV will periodically surface to communicate its location via a GPS signal or an acoustic beacon, which are then transmitted to the surface ship.

Certain AUVs can communicate with their operators on a continuous basis via satellite connections on the research vessel. Scientists are able to continue their research on the ship while the AUV gathers data underwater. Other AUVs can communicate with their operators at specific times. For instance, when they need to replenish their sensors or check their status.

Free Think says that AUVs aren't just used to collect oceanographic data but can also be used to search for underwater resources, like gas and minerals. They can also be employed in response to environmental disasters like oil spills or tsunamis. They can be used to monitor subsurface volcano activity and the conditions of marine life, including coral reefs or whale populations.

Curious Robots

In contrast to traditional underwater robots, that are programmed to search for a single feature of the ocean floor, curious robots are designed to look around and adapt to changing conditions. This is crucial because the environment beneath the waves can be unpredictable. If the water suddenly gets hot it could alter the behavior of marine animals, or even cause an oil spill. Curious robots can detect these changes quickly and efficiently.

Researchers are working on a robotic platform which uses reinforcement learning to train robots to be curious. The robot, which appears like a child, complete with yellow clothing and a green arm is able to recognize patterns that might indicate an interesting discovery. It can also be taught to make decisions based on its past actions. The results of this research could be used to design an artificial intelligence that is capable of learning on its own and adapting to changes in its environment.

Other scientists are using robots that are curious to investigate areas of the ocean that are risky for human divers. For instance, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has a wacky shark robot mop and vacuum named WARP-AUV. It is used to search for and investigate shipwrecks. This robot can identify marine creatures, and distinguish semi-transparent jellyfish and fish from their dim backgrounds.

It takes a long time to teach an individual how to do this. The brain of the WARP-AUV is trained to recognize familiar species after a lot of images have been fed into it. The WARP-AUV functions as a marine detective that can also send live images of sea life and underwater scenes to supervisors on the surface.

Other teams are working on creating robots that share the same curiosity as humans. A team from the University of Washington's Paul G. Allen school of Computer Science & Engineering, for instance, is examining ways to help robots develop curiosity about their surroundings. This team is part of a three-year program by Honda Research Institute USA to develop curious-minded machines.

Remote Missions

There are many uncertainties with space missions that can result in mission failure. Scientists don't know what time the mission will take, how well the components of the spacecraft will work, or if other forces or objects could disrupt the spacecraft's operations. The Remote Agent software is intended to ease these doubts by performing many of the difficult tasks that ground control personnel would perform in the event that they were on DS1 during the mission.

The Remote Agent software system includes an executive planner/scheduler model-based reasoning algorithm. The planner/scheduler generates a set of time-based, event-based activities known as tokens which are sent to the executive. The executive determines how to expand the tokens into a series of commands that are transmitted directly to spacecraft.

During the test, during the test, a DS1 crew member is available to resolve any problems that may arise outside of the scope of the test. All regional bureaus must adhere to Department records management requirements and maintain all documents associated with the establishment of the remote mission.

REMUS SharkCam

Researchers aren't aware of the activities of sharks below the surface. Scientists are piercing the blue barrier with an autonomous underwater vehicle known as the REMUS SharkCam. The results are both amazing and frightening.

The SharkCam team is a group of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, took the torpedo-shaped SharkCam to Guadalupe Island last year to track and film great white sharks in their natural habitat. The resultant 13 hours of video footage together with images from acoustic tags attached to the sharks, reveal much about the underwater behavior of these predators.

The REMUS SharkCam, built in Pocasset, MA by Hydroid, is designed to follow the exact location of an animal that has been tagged without disturbing its behavior or causing alarm. It utilizes an ultra-short navigation system to determine the range, bearing and depth of the animal. Then it closes in on the shark robot vacuum self emptying with a predetermined distance and in a predetermined position (left or right, above or below) and films its swimming and interaction with its surroundings. It can communicate with scientists on the surface at intervals of 20 seconds and respond to commands to alter speed, depth or standoff distance.

State shark robot mop scientist Greg Skomal, WHOI engineer Amy Kukulya, Pelagios-Kakunja shark stick vacuum Self empty researcher Edgar Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla of Mexico's Marine Conservation Society and REMUS SharkCam software developer Roger Stokey first envisioned tracking and filming great whites with the best self emptying shark vacuum-propelled torpedo that they named REMUS SharkCam they were worried that it could disrupt the sharks' movements and potentially cause them to flee from the area they were studying. Skomal, along with his colleagues, reported in a recent paper published in the Journal of Fish Biology that the SharkCam was able to stand up to nine bumps and bites from great whites that weighed several thousand pounds over a week of research along the coast of Guadalupe.

Researchers interpreted the interactions between sharks and REMUS SharkCam (which had been tracking four sharks tagged) as predatory behavior. They recorded 30 shark self empty vacuum interactions with the robot including bumps, simple approaches and on nine occasions, aggressive bites by sharks that appeared to be targeting REMUS.