Acronym CHANGE
Category
Aquaculture
Title An underwater robotics concept for dynamically changing environments Programme National Programme
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
NA
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
NA
Specific Programme (FP7)
NA
Funding source National Coordinator Eleni Kelasidi Coordinator email Eleni.Kelasidi@sintef.no
Coordinator institution
NA
Institutions involved
MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (United States of America) ,
NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) ,
Start year 2021 End year 2024 Funding (€) € 789,200 Website https://www.sintef.no/en/projects/2021/change-an-underwater-robotics-concept-for-dynamically-changing-environments/ Summary As salmon farm sites are moved further offshore and to more exposed locations, working conditions are increasingly challenging. Farmers therefore aim to automate certain operations to facilitate safer working conditions. While current models and control strategies for autonomous unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) allow navigation among rigid structures in static environments, they are not sufficient for UUV operations in a dynamic fish farm environment where the UUV needs to react to the presence of animals and deformable structures influenced by external forces such as waves and currents. The CHANGE project is led by the young research talent Dr. Eleni Kelasidi at SINTEF Ocean, who will work in cooperation with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Together, they will generate fundamental knowledge on modelling of UUVs and develop advanced control strategies for UUVs interacting with complex environments. The developed models will include fish behaviour and deformation of flexible structures, combined with influences from the surrounding environment (e.g. currents, waves), thus providing data for feedback control loops. Integrating these with the novel control strategies will enable real-time control of the UUV during autonomous navigation in aquaculture fish cages without colliding with fish or flexible structures despite variable currents or waves. The functionality of the resulting new control paradigm will be tested in laboratory experiments that mimic the dynamic environments of aquaculture sites. Final field tests at active salmon farms will be employed to validate the developed models and strategies during demanding operations. By enabling UUVs to adapt their actions to the dynamically changing environment, CHANGE will promote operational efficiency, safety, and the sustainable expansion of Norwegian salmon farming.
Keywords
Cage aquaculture;
Technology;
Open sea aquaculture;
Human health;
Salmon;
Engineering;
Fish;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
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