MRI: Development of an Amphibious Remotely Operated Vehicle for Coastal Research and Education

对近岸区域物理行为的了解仍然是理解海滩和障碍岛过程的一个严重不足。这些知识对于沿海社区成功地为未来做好准备，以及评估国家S海滩的长期可持续性至关重要。获取这一知识的一个主要障碍是无法在冲浪区进行安全的观测和测量，冲浪区是一个恶劣的环境，其特点是巨浪、强流、强烈的湍流和高浊度。一种负担得起但坚固耐用的两栖遥控运载器(ROV)的成功开发将改变沿海科学和工程领域进行研究、教学和业务活动的方式。这种运载工具将允许在风暴事件期间以及在其他危险条件下进行现场测量，例如石油和化学品泄漏以及病原体爆发。它可以配备各种各样的仪器和观测设备，以及用于在冲浪区和近岸进行高精度测量。其意图是，一旦证明可行，大多数大学、政府机构和商业利益集团都能负担得起商业生产的ROV复制品。这将扩大对整个近岸海洋界的可获得性，使大量高度优先的近岸科学和工程问题得以解决。基于其他类型的两栖车辆和首席研究员S之前开发冲浪区ROV的经验，设想的平台将是海底爬行，由四条液压驱动履带推进，由通气管吸气式柴油发动机驱动。通气管(长约7.5米)将配备减阻整流罩，以减少电力需求和破浪冲击载荷。它还将携带用于无线电控制、数据通信和视频馈送的天线，以及用于定位和精确水深测量的适当设备。有了这个移动仪器平台，操作可以无缝地跨越干燥的海滩，进入冲浪区，甚至更远的地方。虽然它的框架名义上是5米宽，7米长，以保持在破浪中的稳定性，但该车辆将有能力折叠成合适的配置，以便它可以通过改装的拖船轻松、快速地运输到任何沿海位置。

Knowledge of the physical behavior of the nearshore region has remained as a critical deficiency in understanding beach, and barrier island processes. This knowledge is critical for allowing coastal communities to successfully prepare for the future, and for assessing the long-term sustainability of the Nation?s beaches. A major obstacle in gaining this knowledge is the inability to safely make observations and measurements in the surf zone, a hostile environment characterized by large breaking waves, strong currents, intense turbulence, and high turbidity. The successful development of an affordable, yet robust, amphibious remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will transform the manner in which research, teaching, and operational activities in coastal science and engineering are conducted. Such a vehicle will allow in situ measurements during storm events and under other hazardous conditions such as oil and chemical spills and pathogen outbreaks. It can be equipped with a wide variety of instruments and observational equipment, as well as used to conduct highly accurate surveys in the surf zone and nearshore. It is the intent that once proven practicable, commercially manufactured copies of the ROV will be affordable for most universities, government agencies, and commercial interests. This will broaden its availability to the nearshore ocean community as a whole, allowing a plethora of high-priority nearshore science and engineering issues to be addressed. Based upon other types of amphibious vehicles and the Principal Investigator?s previous experience with the initial development of a surf zone ROV, the platform envisioned will be bottom-crawling, propelled by four hydraulically driven tracks, and powered by a snorkel-aspirated diesel engine. The snorkel (~7.5 m long) will be equipped with drag-reducing cowlings to reduce both power requirements and impact loads from breaking waves. It will also carry antennas for radio control, data communications, and video feed, as well as suitable equipment for positioning and for accurate bathymetric surveying. With this mobile instrument platform, operations can be conducted seamlessly across the dry beach, out into the surf zone, and beyond. Although its frame will be nominally 5 m wide and 7 m long to maintain stability in breaking waves, the vehicle will have the ability to be folded into a suitable configuration so it can be easily and rapidly transported on a modified boat trailer to any coastal location.