RAPID: Adaptive, Mobile Robotic Sampler Platform for In-Water Capture and Return of Oil Spill Chemical, Microbial and Particulate Matter

石油公司已经申请了墨西哥湾溢油RAPID项目，在选定的墨西哥湾和沿海水域建造、验证和部署一个可操作的自适应移动机器人采样平台，用于捕获和回收溢油化学物质、微生物和颗粒物质。该系统由一个机器人采样负载和一个可再生能源（太阳能）自主水下航行器（SAUV）组成，这两项技术都得到了美国国家科学基金会（NSF）的资助。该项目将展示将移动水下平台（机器人）与传感和机器人采样仪器集成在一起的基本技术能力，以便通过时空数据采集和基于模型的采样来支持生物和化学现象的自动化研究。原型传感器/采样/平台系统将支持对深水地平线溢油影响区进行物理采样的自适应方法。系统实现解决了智能水上平台和复杂交互系统控制的基本问题。移动采样器系统将推进石油和其他污染物的时间和空间采样，这些污染物可能对墨西哥湾微妙的化学和生物生态系统中不太明显的部分产生根本影响。更广泛的影响在短期内，该项目提供了一个独特的机会窗口，提供海湾石油泄漏及其对生态系统生存能力的影响的时空地图。移动采样和自适应采样原则将适用于许多其他领域，在这些领域中可以利用这种复杂的基于采样的网络。自适应化学采样方法将以一种新的采样方式影响海洋技术和海洋科学。对遥远的海洋物质进行采样，再加上基于实验室的标准分析，可以对与复杂生态系统相关的高优先级科学问题进行调查。这项工作的影响可能蔓延到海洋学的所有领域（生物、化学、物理、地质和这四个领域的结合）。移动采样平台技术可以扩展到研究其他海洋现象，例如，有害藻华（HAB）、浮游生物分布的精细结构和沿海污染。该项目的预期影响，如果成功，将在系统工程壮举低成本自适应智能水生采样系统。这项工作将产生一种创新的智能硬件框架，能够在复杂的自然样品中净化和检测生物/化学目标。物理系统将被推广为跨学科设计和技术教育的突出例子，使用可再生能源，智能系统和机器人技术。对一般受众的教育和外联工作将包括远程获取抽样业务活动和项目结果。

The PIs have requested a Gulf oil spill RAPID award to construct, validate, and deploy within selected Gulf and coastal waters, an operational adaptive mobile robotic sampler platform for in-water capture and return of oil spill chemical, microbial and particulate matter. The system is comprised of a robotic sampling payload coupled with a renewable energy (solar) autonomous underwater vehicle (SAUV), both were technologies supported by past NSF funding. The project will demonstrate a basic technological capability integrating a mobile underwater platform (robot) with sensing and robotic sampling instrumentation in order to support the automated study of biological and chemical phenomena through spatio-temporal data acquisition and model-based sampling. The prototype sensor/sampling/platform system will support an adaptive approach to physical sampling of the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill impact zone. The system implementation addresses fundamental issues in intelligent aquatic based platforms and control of complex interactive systems. The mobile sampler system will advance the temporal and spatial sampling of the oil and other contaminants which may have fundamental impacts on the less-visible portions of the delicate chemical and biological ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico.Broader ImpactsIn the near term, this program addresses a unique window of opportunity to provide spatial and temporal mapping of the Gulf oil spill and its impact on ecosystem viability. The mobile sampling and adaptive sampling principles will apply to many other domains where such complex sampling based networks can be utilized. The adaptive chemical sampling approach will impact ocean technology and ocean science with a new sampling modality. Sampling of remote ocean material coupled to standard lab based analysis can permit investigations toward high priority science questions related to complex ecosystems. The influence of this work could spill over into all areas of oceanography (biological, chemical, physical, geological and coupled version of the four areas). The mobile sampling platform technology may be extended to study other marine phenomena including, for example, harmful algal blooms (HAB), fine structure of plankton distributions, and coastal contamination. The expected impact of the project, if successful, will be in the systems engineering feat for a low cost adaptive intelligent aquatic sampling system. The work will produce an innovative and intelligent hardware framework capable of purifying and detecting bio/chemical targets in complex, natural samples. The physical system will be promoted as a prominent example of interdisciplinary design and technology education with the use of renewable energy, intelligent systems and robotics. Education and outreach efforts to general audiences will include remote access to the sampling operational activity and project results.