Surf-Zone Underwater Robotic Demonstration Platform
MR-2325
Objective
SERDP has identified underwater munitions remediation as an important step towards complete range clearance for the Department of Defense (DoD). The underwater environment makes munitions especially difficult to locate and remove. One critical environment, as identified by the 2007 SERDP & ESTCP Final Report (Technology Needs for the Characterization, Management, and Remediation of Military Munitions in Underwater Environments), is the surf zone. Applied Research Associates (ARA) will study two key mechanisms that fill existing technology gaps, allowing for a mobile platform that will be stable even in the surf zone. The study of a biomimetic shell will result in a hull that improves platform stability, while the study of Archimedes screw drives will improve platform traction and mobility. Researching these enabling technologies will directly lead to a concept for an unmanned Surf-Zone Underwater Robotic Demonstration Platform (SURDP) prototyped during follow-on efforts. The SURDP will allow lessons learned from “land based” surveys to be applied to underwater surveys by providing a stable platform to move existing EM sensors along the aquatic floor.
Technical Approach
This project will execute parallel tasks using applied research to develop a biomimetic shell and an Archimedes screw drive. The biomimetic shell research seeks to adapt an existing arthropod’s carapace for application as a hydrodynamic hull to cover the prospective SURDP. The design will redirect wave energy to aid in tractive potential and stability by directing flow in a way to provide an appropriate amount of “down force” on the SURDP without producing too much drag potentially destabilizing the robot. Designs will undergo virtual (software) and empirical (flow channel) testing. The Archimedes screw drive research seeks to optimize screw parameters for the SURDP system, and to empirically test screw efficacies under a wide range of likely usages. ARA will create a test bed that allows the application of candidate screw designs to a variety of likely mediums, including sand, silt, pebbles and rocks, muck, and water. The test bed will allow the speed of the screw to be varied, and will measure forces and displacements created by the screw when interacting with various mediums. A final report will coalesce the results from the biomimetic shell and Archimedes screw drive experiments into a conceptual design for the SURDP.
Benefits
Technology developed in the scope of this project will lay the groundwork for the creation of a new type of amphibious unmanned system capable of traversing the aquatic floor, even in the dynamic surf-zone. This new platform will be ideal for the dull, dirty, and dangerous task of underwater munitions remediation. The resulting system will immediately advance the "state of the art" in underwater munitions detection by applying the techniques and technologies developed during decades of "dry land" munitions surveys directly to the underwater domain. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2013)
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. Robert Hughes
Applied Research Associates, Inc.
Phone: 619-270-8531
Fax: 505-872-0794
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.