Future Marine Launch and Recovery Systems

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The mission of the research program is to increase safety on maritime vessels by advancing motion compensation systems and robotics. Specific issues arise, due to the relative motion between bodies during cargo transfer of two floating platforms and during launch and recovery operations. To increase operational availability and welfare during maritime load transfers, the research program focuses on developing technologies that can be used to model, predict and compensate for the relative motion on all axes. The ultimate goal of the program is to reliably launch, recover or transfer any load or object from the sea surface or another vessel to the host ship irrespective of weather conditions or relative motions. The program takes a systems level approach to the problem to make advances in: control algorithms, system modelling, machine vision, robotic actuation, and mechanical design of marine deck machinery and robotics.***This NSERC Discovery Grant specifically focuses on fundamental model development and advancing a prediction algorithm for control systems. The control system developments will reduce power consumption and failure modes of marine motion compensation systems. Moreover, the research will alter the typical reactive' methodology to a proactive' system to mitigate and prevent collisions and other calamities during marine lifting operations. The proposed research also will investigate the integration of a complete crane and winch system to mitigate the relative motions during operations. The advances carried out under this Discovery Grant will assist the program towards its ultimate goal. Moreover, the research carried out over the next five years will help the $5 billion Canadian marine industry, as it will assist in improving the safety of maritime equipment. The funding of the Discovery Grant will directly support 1 PhD, 6 MASc, and 5 BASc students.