Underwater navigation based on passive electric sense: New perspectives for underwater docking (original) (raw)
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Autonomous Underwater Docking Using Active / Passive Electro-location
2016
In the context of Remotly Operated Vehicule (ROV) for underwater application, connecting the robot to its docking station can be a significant challenge [2]. ROV have to navigate in a complex and unpredictable environment since the perception is limitted. Optical and Acoustic sensor can not be used is this kind of environment because blind spots can occur and short range obstacles may interfere. To perform the docking, it also necessary to provide it a guide. In those situations, with poor visibility, to increase the perception, we have to use an other sense. Electric sense can overcome these limitations and improve the perception of the underwater environment. Discovered in the 50’s ([7]), the electric sense, is the ability to obtain the perception of an environment based on the perturbation of an electric field. Some weakly electric fish, like the Gnathonemus petersii, are able to generate an electric field around them to navigate in turbid water, to communicate or to look for hid...
Underwater Reflex Navigation in Confined Environment Based on Electric Sense
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2000
This article shows how a new sensor inspired by electric fish could be used to help navigate in confined environments. Exploiting the morphology of the sensor, the physics of electric interactions, as well as taking inspiration from passive electro-location in real fish, a set of reactive control laws encoding simple behaviors such as avoiding any electrically contrasted object, or seeking a set of objects while avoiding others according to their electric properties, is proposed. These reflex behaviors are illustrated on simulations and experiments carried out on a setup dedicated to the study of electric sense. The approach does not require any model of the environment and is quite cheap to implement.
Marine Robotics and Applications
This article presents different use of the electric field perception in the context of underwater robot navigation. To illustrate the developed navigation behaviours we will introduce a recently launched european project named subCUL-Tron and will show some simulation and experimentation results. The project sub-CULTron aims at achieving long-term collective robot exploration and monitoring of underwater environments. The demonstration will take place in the lagoon of Venice, a large shallow embayment composed of salt turbib water that represents a challenging environment for underwater robots as common sensor like vision or acoustic are difficult to handle. To overcome turbidity and confinement problems our robots will be equipped with artificial electric sensors that will be used as the main sensorial modality for navigation. Electric sense is a bio-inspired sense that has been developed by several species of fish living in turbib and confined underwater environment. In this paper, many different robotic behaviours based on the electric field perception will be presented, in particular we will address reactive navigation, object/robots detection, and object localization and estimation.
Electric sensing for underwater navigation
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018
Underwater navigation in turbid water for exploration in catastrophic conditions or navigation in confined unstructured environments is still a challenge for robotics. In these conditions, neither vision nor sonar can be used. Pursuing a bio-inspired approach in robotics, one can seek solutions in nature to solve this difficult problem. Several hundred fish species in families Gymnotidae and Mormyridae have developed an original sense well adapted to this situation: the electric sense. Gnathonemus petersii first polarizes its body with respect to an electric organ discharge located at the base of its tail and generates a dipolar electric field in its near surroundings. Then, using many transcutaneous electro-receptors distributed along its body, the fish “measures” the distortion of the electric field and infers an image of its surroundings. Understanding and implementing this bio-inspired sense offers the opportunity to enhance the navigation abilities of our underwater robots in c...
Sensor model for the navigation of underwater vehicles by the electric sense
2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, 2010
We present an analytical model of a sensor for the navigation of underwater vehicles by the electric sense. This model is inspired from the electroreception structure of the electric fish. In our model, that we call the poly-spherical model (PSM), the sensor is composed of n spherical electrodes. Some electrodes play the role of current-emitters whereas others play the role of current-receivers. By imposing values of the electrical potential on each electrode we create an electric field in the vicinity of the sensor. The region where the electric field is created is considered as the bubble of perception of the sensor. Each object that enters this bubble is electrically polarized and creates in return a perturbation. This perturbation induces a variation of the measured current by the sensor. The model is tested on objects for which the expression of the polarizability is known. A unique off-line calibration of the poly-spherical model permits to predict the measured current of a real immersed sensor in an aquarium. Comparisons in a basic scene between the predicted current given by the poly-spherical model and the measured current given by our test bed show a very good agreement, which confirms the interest of using such fast analytical models for the purpose of navigation.
Underwater electro-navigation in the dark
2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2012
This article proposes a solution to the problem of the navigation of underwater robots in confined unstructured environments wetted by turbid waters. The solution is based on a new sensor bio-inspired from electric fish. Exploiting the morphology of the sensor as well as taking inspiration from passive electro-location in real fish, the solution turns out to be a sensory-motor loop encoding a simple behavior relevant to exploration missions. This behavior consists in seeking conductive objects while avoiding insulating ones. The solution is illustrated on experiments. It is robust and works even in very unstructured scenes. It does not require any model and is quite cheap to implement.
Model for a Sensor Inspired by Electric Fish
IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2012
This article reports the first results from a programme of work aimed at developing a swimming robot equipped with electric sense. After having presented the principles of a bioinspired electric sensor, now working, we will build the models for electrolocation of objects that are suited to this kind of sensor. The produced models are in a compact analytical form in order to be tractable on the onboard computers of the future robot. These models are tested by comparing them with numerical simulations based on the boundary elements method. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the approach and its compatibility with online objects electrolocation, another parallel programme of ours.
Electrolocation Sensors in Conducting Water Bio-Inspired by Electric Fish
IEEE Sensors Journal, 2013
This article presents the first research into designing an active sensor inspired by electric fish. It is notable for its potential for robotics underwater navigation and exploration tasks in conditions where vision and sonar would meet difficulty. It could also be used as a complementary omnidirectional, short range sense to vision and sonar. Combined with a well defined engine geometry, this sensor can be modeled analytically. In this article, we focus on a particular measurement mode where one electrode of the sensor acts as a current emitter and the others as current receivers. In spite of the high sensitivity required by electric sense, the first results show that we can obtain a detection range of the order of the sensor length, which suggests that this sensor principle can be used for robotics obstacle avoidance as it is illustrated at the end of the article.
Electrolocation-Based Obstacle Avoidance and Autonomous Navigation in Underwater Environments
2013
Weakly electric fish are capable of performing obstacle avoidance in dark and complex aquatic environments efficiently using a navigation technique known as electrolocation. That is, electric fish infer relevant information about surrounding obstacles from the perturbations that these obstacles impart to their self-generated electric field. This dissertation draws inspiration from electrolocation to demonstrate unmapped reflexive obstacle avoidance in underwater environments. The perturbation signal, called the electric image, contains the spatial information of the perturbing objects regarding their location, size, conductivity etc. Electrostatic equations elucidate the concept of electrolocation and the mechanism of obstacle detection using electric field perturbations. Spatial decomposition of an electric image using Wide-Field Integration processing extracts relative proximity information
Underwater Docking Approach and Homing to Enable Persistent Operation
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 2021
One of the main limiting factors in deployment of marine robots is the issue of energy sustainability. This is particularly challenging for traditional propeller-driven autonomous underwater vehicles which operate using energy intensive thrusters. One emerging technology to enable persistent performance is the use of autonomous recharging and retasking through underwater docking stations. This paper presents an integrated navigational algorithm to facilitate reliable underwater docking of autonomous underwater vehicles. Specifically, the algorithm dynamically re-plans Dubins paths to create an efficient trajectory from the current vehicle position through approach into terminal homing. The path is followed using integral line of sight control until handoff to the terminal homing method. A light tracking algorithm drives the vehicle from the handoff location into the dock. In experimental testing using an Oceanserver Iver3 and Bluefin SandShark, the approach phase reached the target handoff within 2 m in 48 of 48 tests. The terminal homing phase was capable of handling up to 5 m offsets with approximately 70% accuracy (12 of 17 tests). In the event of failed docking, a Dubins path is generated to efficiently drive the vehicle to re-attempt docking. The vehicle should be able to successfully dock in the majority of foreseeable scenarios when re-attempts are considered. This method, when combined with recent work on docking station design, intelligent cooperative path planning, underwater communication, and underwater power transfer, will enable true persistent undersea operation in the extremely dynamic ocean environment.