CPS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Networked Sensor Swarm of Underwater Drifters

本研究的目的是创建一个沿海观测系统，通过配备传感器的联网水下漂流器实现密集的、原位的4D传感。方法是开发部署一群自主浮力控制的漂浮器所需的技术，这些漂浮器可以控制其深度，但其他方面完全由洋流携带。这种拉格朗日采样有望提供丰富的新数据，从物理海洋学（绘制3D洋流）、生物学（观察幼虫和营养物质的分散）、环境科学（追踪沿海污染物和雨水排水沟的污水）和安全（监测港口和港口）的应用。这个观测系统从根本上需要漂移者的准确位置（解释数据样本的空间相关性），群控制算法（实现所需的采样拓扑）和无线通信（在单个漂移者之间进行协调）。这项研究将创建分布式技术来自定位漂流者群体，新颖的群体控制算法，在纯粹利用分层流环境的同时实现拓扑操纵，以及有效的水下无线通信来实现信息共享。该项目具有重大的社会影响和教育因素。水下漂流虫群将使人们对一系列科学问题有新的认识，包括了解浮游生物的运输、积累和分散，以及监测有害的藻华。本科生将在这个项目的许多方面发挥积极作用，从而为他们提供独特的跨学科体验。最后，将通过加州大学圣地亚哥分校COSMOS暑期项目向高中生推广。

The objective of this research is the creation of a coastal observing system that enables dense, in situ, 4D sensing through networked, sensor-equipped underwater drifters. The approach is to develop the technologies required to deploy a swarm of autonomous buoyancy controlled drifters, which are vehicles that can control their depth, but are otherwise carried entirely by the ocean currents. Such Lagrangian sampling promises to deliver a wealth of new data, ranging from applications in physical oceanography (mapping 3D currents), biology (observing the dispersion of larvae and nutrients), environmental science (tracking coastal pollutants and effluents from storm drains), and security (monitoring harbors and ports).This observing system fundamentally requires accurate positions of the drifters (to interpret the spatial correlations of data samples), swarm control algorithms (to achieve desired sampling topologies), and wireless communication (to coordinate between the individual drifters). This research will create distributed techniques to self-localize the drifter swarm, novel swarm control algorithms that enable topology manipulation while purely leveraging the stratified flow environment, and efficient wireless underwater communication for information sharing.This project has significant societal impact and educational elements. Underwater drifter swarms will enable novel insights into a wide array of scientific questions, including understanding plankton transport, accumulation and dispersion as well as monitoring harmful algal blooms. Undergraduates will play an active role in many aspects of this project, thereby offering them a uniquely interdisciplinary experience. Finally, outreach to high school students will occur through the UCSD COSMOS summer program.