RI: Small: Collaborative Research: Distributed Heterogeneous Ocean Robots for Detecting and Monitoring Oil Plumes

该合作项目解决了对海洋观测技术的需求，这在最近的深水地平线事件中得到了突出体现。拟议中的项目研究异构海洋机器人（包括波浪滑翔机、无人水面船和自主水下航行器），以探测和监测油羽的传播。具体目标包括：1)基于偏微分方程（PDE）方法开发与海洋石油运输模型相匹配的分布式多机器人协同部署算法；2)开发新型波浪滑船平台的真实动力学模型，并将其纳入协同控制；3)通过海洋机器人平台网络的海岸实验模拟和实验演示，评估创新算法的潜在优势。更广泛的影响：拟议的项目将为集体传感提供新的算法和软件支持，并解决现实世界对更好地感知水下碳氢化合物羽流的迫切需求。提案中开发的技术将对海洋调查和深水能源生产等水下勘探产生长期影响。这些结果也可能对其他环境监测任务有潜在的好处，比如潜在的扩散和平流过程，比如天气事件跟踪和气候预测。计划中的工作将通过以机器人为中心的本科和研究生教育、机器人竞赛、短期课程和研讨会开发以及扩展到K-12教育，将研究项目与教育活动结合起来。该项目与史蒂文斯工程与科学教育创新中心合作，将展示由美国国家科学基金会颁发的史蒂文斯构建IT水下机器人技术STEM学习和劳动力发展项目课程中的拟议研究。

This collaborative project addresses the need for ocean observational techniques which was highlighted by the recent Deepwater Horizon incident. The proposed project investigates heterogeneous ocean robots (including wave gliders, unmanned surface vessels, and autonomous underwater vehicles) to detect and monitor the propagation of oil plumes. Specific objectives include: 1) the development of a distributed multi-robot cooperative deployment algorithm using partial differential equation (PDE) based methods that match the oceanographic model of oil transport, 2) the development of authentic dynamic model of the new wave glider platform to incorporate in the cooperative control, and 3) assessing the potential advantages of innovative algorithms through simulations and experimental demonstration in a coastal experiment using a network of ocean robot platforms.Broader Impacts: The proposed project will provide novel algorithmic and software support for collective sensing, and address a pressing real-world need for better sensing of underwater hydrocarbon plumes. The techniques developed in the proposal will have long-term impacts in underwater exploration such as oceanographic survey and energy production in deep water. The results may also potentially benefit other environmental monitoring tasks with underlying diffusion and advection processes, such as weather event tracking and climate prediction. The planned work will integrate research projects with education activities through robot-centric undergraduate and graduate education, robotics competition, short course and workshop development, and outreach to K-12 education. Partnering with the Stevens' Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education, the project will showcase the proposed research in the curriculum of the Stevens Build IT Underwater Robotics Scale-Up for STEM Learning and Workforce Development Project awarded by NSF.