Magnetically attached hull cleaning robot

Abstract

A robot designed to clean the hull of a ship while in transit is provided. For example, the robot can include a chassis, a plurality of wheels, a motor, a magnetic attachment component, a suspension, a cleaning element, and a housing within which the chassis, the plurality of wheels, the motor, the magnetic attachment component, the suspension, and the cleaning element are at least partially disposed. The plurality of wheels can be configured to move the robot along a surface of a ship hull. The motor can be configured to power at least one wheel from the plurality of wheels. The magnetic attachment component for attaching the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The suspension can have a set of linkages that suspend each of the plurality of wheels and the magnetic attachment component from the chassis.

Description

MAGNETICALLY ATTACHED HULL CLEANING ROBOTGOVERNMENT RIGHTS

[0001] This invention was made with government support under FA8702-15-D-0001 awarded by the U.S. Air Force. The government has certain rights in the invention.CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0002] The present disclosure claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 651,770, entitled “Magnetically Attached Hull Cleaning Board,” filed on May 24, 2024, the content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to robots designed to clean the hull of a boat, and more particularly to one or more robots capable of magnetically attaching and moving (e.g., crawling) along the hull while the ship is in transit to clean the hull with one or more cleaning tools.BACKGROUND

[0004] Ships at sea experience large amounts of biofouling, or a buildup of organic crud that grows on most objects immersed in water. This biofouling can accumulate on ships quickly and in such large quantities that drag and, as a result, fuel costs can greatly increase, especially on long-distance journeys. While biofouling buildup occurs at different rates depending, at least in part, on factors such as environmental conditions and surface parameters, engineers have yet to design a coating that prevents biofouling adhesion entirely. Currently, biofouling costs the international shipping industry about 26 billion dollars per year in fuel losses. Fuel burned by cargo vessels accounts for 3% of global CO2 emissions, and so biofouling reduction has the potential to significantly curtail those emissions.

[0005] Existing solutions are primarily targeted at in-port cleaning, such as dry-docking or hiring a team of divers. While drydocking allows for all required maintenance on the ship to be done at once, it is costly for reasons including money and idle time. In-port cleaning, meanwhile, must additionally be able to handle large amounts of biofouling accumulated duringtransit, often over the course of multiple trips. In-port cleaning services must abide by varying degrees of restrictions on in-water cleaning, debris collection, and debris treatment.Alternatively, biofouling may be removed in transit. These solutions require the ship to stop for long periods in the middle of the ocean or sustain cleaning at reduced velocities.

[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for devices and methods for removing biofouling from marine vessels more quickly and efficiently.SUMMARY

[0007] The present disclosure is directed to a robot for cleaning the hulls of boats, ships, and other marine objects. The robot can include a wheel assembly having a plurality of wheels, a suspension, and a magnetically attached component configured to be attached to the hull of a ship and operate to clean the ship while the ship is moving. One or more cleaning elements can be disposed on the robot with an ability to pivot to conform to a shape of the hull to adjust a height of the cleaning element(s) during motion of the robot along the hull. The robot can include a housing that minimizes drag regardless of the incoming water direction. In some instances, the robot can clean in a serpentine path and / or along transverse sections of the hull, moving down the side of the ship, across the bottom of the hull, and back up the opposing side before popping above the waterline, turning around, and cleaning the adjacent section in a similar manner. The robot can navigate along the hull with an absolute location thereof being sent, for example, via radio triangulation each time it surfaces for re-calibration.

[0008] One exemplary embodiment of a robot includes a chassis, a plurality of wheels, a motor, a magnetic attachment component, a suspension, a cleaning element, and a housing within which one or more of the chassis, the plurality of wheels, the motor, the magnetic attachment component, the suspension, and the cleaning element are at least partially disposed. The plurality of wheels are configured to move the robot along a surface of a ship hull. The motor is configured to power at least one wheel from the plurality of wheels. In some embodiments, the magnetic attachment component can magnetically attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The magnetic attachment component attaches the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The suspension has a set of linkages that suspend each of the plurality of wheels and the magnetic attachment component from the chassis.

[0009] The plurality of wheels can be configured to move the robot along the surface of the ship hull in a single degree of freedom. The magnetic attachment component can include at least one of one or more permanent, electromagnetic arrays, or semi-permanent magnet arrays. In some embodiments, the magnetic attachment component can include a magnetic ski suspended from the chassis and at least one roller disposed on at least one end of the magnetic ski, with the at least one roller being configured to place the Halbach array at a predetermined distance from a surface of the ship hull. The suspension can include an inverted suspension that includes at least one of (i) a set of wheel linkages that suspend each wheel from the plurality of wheels from the chassis such that the wheel and the set of wheel linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis or (ii) a set of magnetic attachment linkages that suspend the magnetic attachment component from the chassis such that the magnetic attachment component and the set of magnetic attachment linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis.

[0010] The cleaning element can include at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more waterjet cleaning elements. The housing can include a hydrodynamic shell that is shaped and configured to create hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The hydrodynamic forces can be exerted in response to a flow of fluid that is substantially perpendicular to a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull. In some embodiments, the hydrodynamic shell can include one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, with the one or more hydrofoils configured to create a downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The one or more hydrofoils can be oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of fluid that is not aligned with a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

[0011] An exemplary embodiment of a robot includes a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis that is configured to roll along a surface of a ship hull, a magnetic attachment component configured to attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull, and a housing within which at least one of a cleaning element and the wheel assembly are at least partially disposed. The housing forms a hydrodynamic shell shaped and configured to: (i) reduce a drag force associated with at least one of a movement of the ship hull through a body of water or a movement of the robotalong the surface of the ship hull, and (ii) create a downforce that facilitates adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.

[0012] The wheel assembly can be configured such that the magnetic attachment component can be spaced a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the wheel rolls along the surface. The magnetic attachment component can be configured to magnetically attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The hydrodynamic shell can include one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, with the hydrofoils being configured to increase the downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull. In some embodiments, the hydrofoil can be configured such that a pitch of the hydrofoils is adjustable based at least in part on a direction of the movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

[0013] In some embodiments, the cleaning element can be suspended from the chassis of the robot. The cleaning element can include at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more waterjet cleaning elements. The cleaning element can be configured to clean the ship hull as the robot moves along the surface of the ship hull.

[0014] One exemplary method of cleaning a ship hull includes attaching a robot to the ship hull, operating the robot to move along a path on a surface of at least a portion of the ship hull while the ship hull is moving through a body of water, communicating with one or more location devices as the robot is moving along a portion of the path that is above a water line, and updating the path based, at least in part, on the communicating with the one or more location devices. The robot cleans the surface while the robot is moving with respect to the ship hull.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method can include magnetically attaching a robot to the ship hull. The method can include maintaining the magnetic attachment component at a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the robot is moving along the path, with the robot including a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis, with the wheel assembly including a wheel that can be configured to move the robot along at least the portion of the ship hull and a magnetic attachment component that can be configured to magnetically attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull. Operating the robot to move along the path can furtherinclude moving the robot in a first direction that is perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water, turning the robot above the water line, and moving the robot in a second direction opposite to the first direction, with the second direction being perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water.

[0016] In some embodiments, the method can further include determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the first direction along the path based at least in part on a 2D sensing system independent of a wheel encoder, and determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the second direction along the path based at least in part on the 2D sensing system. The method can further include generating, based at least in part on a configuration of a hydrodynamic shell of the robot and caused by the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell, hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull. The hydrodynamic shell can include one or more hydrofoils selectively oriented to create a downforce in response to the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water, with the method including adjusting a pitch of the one or more hydrofoils based at least in part on a direction of the robot moving along the path on the surface of at least the portion of the ship hull.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] This disclosure will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a transparent perspective view of a robot of the present embodiments;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a suspension of the robot of the present embodiments;

[0020] FIG. 3 A is a perspective view of a wheel assembly of the robot of FIG. 1;

[0021] FIG. 3B is a side view of the wheel assembly of FIG. 3 A;

[0022] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a magnetic attachment component of the wheel assembly of FIG. 3 A;

[0023] FIG. 4B is a side cross-section view of the magnetic attachment component of FIG. 4A;

[0024] FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of the magnetic attachment component of FIG. 4A independently suspended on a chassis of the robot of FIG. 1;

[0025] FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of magnetic field lines of an array of the magnetic attachment component of FIG. 4A relative to a hull of a ship;

[0026] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the wheel assembly of FIG. 3 A attached to one or more mounts for coupling to a chassis of the robot of FIG. 1;

[0027] FIG. 8 is a magnified perspective view of a chassis and a cleaning element of the robot of FIG. 1;

[0028] FIG. 9 is a transparent perspective view of the robot of FIG. 1 having an alternate embodiment of a housing;

[0029] FIG. 10 is a transparent perspective view of the robot of FIG. 1 having an alternate embodiment of a housing with hydrofoils;

[0030] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the housing with hydrofoils of FIG. 10;

[0031] FIG. 12A is a side view of the hydrofoils of the housing of FIG. 11;

[0032] FIG. 12B is a side view of the hydrofoils of FIG. 12A after actuation to adjust the angle of attack and change the downforce;

[0033] FIG. 13 is a schematic side view of a fluid flow over the housing of the robot of FIG. 1 to create downforce to attach the robot to a hull of a ship;

[0034] FIG. 14 is a schematic side view of an example embodiment of a non-specific path taken by the robot of FIG. 1 on a hull of a ship;

[0035] FIG. 15 is a schematic side view of an example embodiment of a path taken by the robot of FIG. 1 on a hull of a ship that is perpendicular to water flow;

[0036] FIG. 16 is a bottom perspective view of an example embodiment of a path taken by the robot of FIG. 1 on a hull of a ship that is perpendicular to water flow and crosses under the hull;

[0037] FIG. 17 is a schematic bottom view of the robot of FIG. 1 being positioned perpendicular to fluid flow;

[0038] FIG. 18 is a schematic side view of a plurality of beacons being positioned on the ship hull relative to the robot of FIG. 1; and

[0039] FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of one exemplary embodiment of a computer system upon which the control system of the present disclosures can be built.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Certain exemplary embodiments will now be described to provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure, function, manufacture, and use of the systems, devices, related components (e.g, transmission, chassis, cleaning element, etc.), and techniques disclosed herein. One or more examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will understand that the systems, devices, and methods specifically described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings are nonlimiting exemplary embodiments and that the scope of the present disclosure is defined solely by the claims. The features illustrated or described in connection with one exemplary embodiment may be combined with the features of other embodiments. Such modifications and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure. Further, to the extent features, layers, sides, objects, steps, or the like are described as being “first,” “second,” third,” etc., and / or “lower,” “upper,” “middle,” etc., such numerical and / or location ordering / identification is generally arbitrary, and thus such numbering can be interchangeable unless indicated or otherwise understood by those skilled in the art to not be interchangeable.

[0041] To the extent that the instant disclosure includes various terms for components and / or processes of the disclosed systems, methods, and the like, one skilled in the art, in view of the claims, present disclosure, and knowledge of the skilled person, will understand such terms are merely examples of such components and / or processes, and other components, designs, processes, and / or actions are possible.- 1-

[0042] The present disclosure generally relates to a mobile, crew-operated, or autonomous mechanical system to clean and / or remove biofouling in shipping that can be deployed regularly to remove soft biofouling during transit without requiring the ship to reduce speed. The mechanical system can include hull cleaning robots, also referred to as crawlers, among other terms. The robot can be attached to a boat or ship (the words are used interchangeably herein) and operated while the ship is in transit to clean the hull of the ship, thus removing soft biofouling and / or other material that can otherwise accumulate on the hull over time. As noted above, typically the cleaning of hulls is done in-port or in dry-dock, costing time and money as the ship sits for cleaning, with failure to clean resulting in damage to the ship (e.g., the hull coating of a ship) and loss of time and fuel efficiency due to drag created by the biofouling buildup, among other problems with current industry-standard approaches. The present disclosure avoids these problems by providing for a robot that can be attached to the hull and operated while the ship is in transit, enabling regular cleanings while transporting goods and the like.

[0043] Cleaning with the robots of the present embodiments can be performed by a rotating brush fitted to the front of the crawler and pressed into the hull to scrub it clean as the craft makes its traversal. The robot can be used on ships and other marine vessels that can travel speeds of up to 20 knots, with the robot being able to resist significant drag forces during use. To maintain contact with the hull and resist drag, the robot includes a magnetic attachment system to provide a constant (or substantially constant) downforce during operation. As used herein, the term “downforce” generally refers to a force in the direction of the hull and, therefore, is not necessarily in a “downward” direction.

[0044] Additionally, the robot can include a hydrodynamic shell, or housing, to reduce drag as much as possible. The path of the robot along the hull of the ship can be communicated by radio beacons placed around the deck of the ship and used to locate the robot whenever it breaks the surface of the water. The robot can include an onboard battery system to provide power to the brush and to wheel assemblies that will provide propulsion across the hull. In order to reduce both the complexity of the design and the potential of damaging the parent ship, the robot’s operation can, in some embodiments, be restricted to the areas of the hull without obstacles like bilge keels and away from vulnerable and valuable components like the propeller.

[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a cleaning robot or crawler 100 of the present embodiments for attaching to a ship 1 to clean biofouling therefrom. As shown, components of the robot 100, which can more generally be considered a cleaning system or device, can include a chassis 102, one or more wheels 104 (with or without tires), a cleaning element 106, and a housing, e. ., a hydrodynamic housing or shell 108. The chassis 102 can include an aluminum frame that provides a base of the robot 100 to hold the disparate system components together and has one or more mounting points for the subsystems and components described below. In some embodiments, the chassis can be created via a tab-and-slot sheet methodology, enabling tight system level tolerances from the precision of laser cut sheet metal while also minimizing cost. The gussets and beams used therein can be bolted together for expedited manufacturing, but in some embodiments, the bolts can be replaced with welds and rivets for sturdier construction.

[0046] The one or more wheels 104 can be configured to move the robot along a surface of the ship hull. The wheels 104 can have tires to react against the drag force of water and drive the crawler forward, though it will be appreciated that the wheels can be used without tires in some embodiments. While six sprung wheel assemblies are shown, it will be appreciated that five or less, or seven or more wheels can be used for the powertrain to move the robot 100 along the hull 140 in a single degree of freedom.

[0047] The cleaning element or apparatus 106 (also referred to as an attachment) can be any tool, or combination of tools, capable of cleaning biofouling and / or other accumulated material from a boat hull. In illustrated embodiments provided in the present disclosure, the cleaning element 106 can include one or more cylindrically-shaped brushes. The brush(es) can conform to the hull. Other non-limiting examples of cleaning apparatuses or elements include one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet (UV) radiation elements, and / or one or more waterjet cleaning elements. In some embodiments, the cleaning element 106 can be mounted to the front of the robot 100, with independently sprung left and ride sides, and with the same travel range as the wheels 104. The housing 108 can encase the chassis 102, the wheels, 104, and the cleaning element 106, as well as other components of the robot 100, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0048] The robot 100 of the present embodiments can further include a suspension 110. It will be appreciated that existing suspension systems are designed for the vehicle's downforce to primarily originate from the aerodynamic and gravitational loading on the suspended body. In fact, in some applications, such as in low-gravitational asteroid traversal or underwater climbing, the downforce is sourced near the wheels, in which case no restoring torque about the vehicle roll axis exists should one wheel lose contact and downforce. To remedy this, an inverted suspension can be used. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an inverted multi-link suspension system 110 of the present embodiments. Suspension inversion inverts the reaction force created due to suspension actuation to create a restoring pitch moment.

[0049] As shown, the inverted suspension 110 can include a set of linkages 111 (i.e., at least two linking components) that are connected outboard of a chassis 102, thus inverting the suspension as compared to a typical linkage-chassis set-up in which linkages are typically inboard of a chassis, to be disposed outboard of the chassis. The set of linkages 111 can include one or more lower control arms 112 one or more upper control arms, and one or more push rods 114 that can connect each of the one or more wheels 104 to the chassis 102. For example, the set of linkages 111 can suspend each wheel 104 from the chassis 102 such that the wheel 104 and the set of wheel linkages 111 are disposed outboard of the chassis.

[0050] The set of linkages 11 1 can further include one or more rockers 1 16 that can be used to connect the one or more push rods 114 to one or more compressible shock absorbers or springs 118. The push rods 114 can have a fixed length and the rocker 116 can connect the push rod 114 to the compressible shock absorbers or springs 118 at about a 3 : 1 motion ratio. As discussed above and shown in the figures below, the set of linkages 111 can be mounted to the chassis 102 in an outboard orientation with respect to the center of the chassis 102. A person skilled in the art will appreciate various linkage designs that can be implemented in view of the present disclosure, including designs having fewer or more control arms, push rods, rockers, and shock absorbers than illustrated. The set of linkages 111 can be designed by a person skilled in the art, in view of the present disclosures, to create desired degrees of freedom, compliances, damping, and / or motion ratios, among other desirable results. To the extent that a portion of the set of linkages is described herein as being coupled to a wheel or tire, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that includes both directly coupling, wherein an arm, rod, or the like is coupleddirectly to a portion of the wheel, or indirectly, for instance by way of connecting to a wheel upright that is coupled to a wheel, as shown in FIG 2.

[0051] Unlike traditional automotive suspensions, the primary downforce for the crawler 100 of the present embodiments can be provided not by the weight of the crawler 100, but instead by the magnetic skis (discussed in greater detail below) attached to each wheel 104. Accordingly, although substantial suspension travel is needed for terrain flexibility — 5cm (2”) — a stability problem may occur due to the roll moment created by the wheel normal force, tending to roll the crawler 100 away from the hull. To counteract this, a doubled wishbone architecture is used, but inverted, thus placing the frame mounts outboard of the wheel rather than inboard, with a body of the chassis 102 being located to the left of the suspension 110, as illustrated here.Accordingly, while in typical suspension systems normal loading on the wheels 104 creates a moment tending to roll the vehicle, the inverted suspension instead inverts the reaction force couple that is created due to suspension actuation, thus creating a restoring roll moment. The force couple created by the reaction forces in upper and lower control arms, such that of FIG. 2, can result in a net restoring moment about the roll axis.

[0052] Further, the design of the inverted suspension, and more particularly the shocks provided as part of illustrated inverted suspension system, can allow for ambient water to be used as a working fluid. For example, in some embodiments, water can flow through vent holes included as part of the shocks. The suspension 110 of the present embodiments can have three degrees of freedom, but a person skilled in the art, in view of the present disclosure, will understand that the inclusion of one or more additional rods and / or constraints as part of the set of linkages 111 can cause the degrees of freedom to be further constrained to a single degree.

[0053] The robot 100 can include various features for driving motion along each surface. FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate a wheel assembly 120 that includes the suspension 110 discussed above, a magnetic attachment component or ski 122 for magnetically attaching the robot 100 to various surfaces, and a motor 124 configured to provide an output that powers at least one wheel 104 along a surface. The magnetic attachment component 122 can be suspended from the chassis 102 via a set of magnetic attachment linkages (as shown in FIG. 5) such that the magnetic attachment component 122 and the set of magnetic attachment linkages are disposed outboard ofthe chassis 102, as discussed above. The combination of the inverted suspension 110 and the magnetic attachment component 122 can be considered an attachment and propulsion system or subsystem, with the design of those components creating both downforce to ensure the robot adheres to the ship and minimizes friction to avoid slippage under the drag force of the water flow. It will be appreciated that the magnetic attachment component 122 can be used to attach the robot 100 to the ship while it is in motion and / or stationary.

[0054] During operation, the robot 100 can create downforce to stick to the ship and friction to avoid slippage under the drag force of the water flow. This downforce can in part be achieved by the hydropackage that will manage the flow in order to make the robot 100 stick to the ship’s surface. The remainder of the downforce can be obtained by using Halbach arrays 128, which is an arrangement of permanent magnets that will provide magnetic adhesion force towards the steel hull of the ship. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, the magnetic attachment component, or skis 122, can include one or more of these permanent, electromagnetic magnet arrays and / or one or more semi-permanent magnet arrays, such as permanent Halbach arrays 128, mounted thereto. The Halbach arrays 128 can be located at each wheel 104 of the robot 100 and allow the robot 100 to generate sufficient adsorption force to remain attached to the hull while the boat is in motion, while permitting the robot 100 to move in an energy efficient manner (e.g., using a rolling motion). That is, each magnetic attachment component 122 can be suspended and / or colocated with each wheel 104, and is not embedded or otherwise centrally mounted with respect to the robot 100. One or more of the chassis 102, the suspension 110, and / or the wheel assembly 120 can be used to place, and / or space, the Halbach array 128 at a predetermined distance from a surface of the ship hull.

[0055] In some embodiments, the magnetic attachment component 122 can include one or more rollers 126 and one or more back-up rollers, or needle rollers 130, at the end(s) of the magnetic attachment component 122. These rollers 126, 130, or rolling elements, can help direct load paths into themselves rather than into sliding contact on the magnetic ski 122, providing a certain robustness to protrusions on the hull. The rollers 126, 130 help ensure the reliability and safety of the robot to operate over the hull without getting stuck, e.g., in the event that the robot 100 encounters weld lines and / or rivets throughout its motion, or if a gap between the ski 122 and the hull shrinks to avoid unwanted friction therebetween. While the magnetic attachmentcomponent 122 can provide at least some of the downforce, additional downforce can be achieved by a hydropackage, also referred to as the hydrodynamic shell or housing 108 herein, which is described in greater detail below, which can manage the flow to help the robot 100 stick or adhere to the surface of the ship.

[0056] Co-locating the arrays 128 at the wheels 104 can allow the arrays 128 to be constructed out of straight, and / or substantially straight, magnetic elements rather than curved ones that extend along a body 125 of the ski 122. It will be appreciated that the ski 122 can be assembled via sheet metal construction, held together with bolts, and the magnets are attached to the steel via a marine epoxy, with about 12 neodymium magnets, of grade N52, being used to provide the attachment force.

[0057] FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate the magnetic attachment component 122 in greater detail. As shown, the magnetic attachment component 122 can come in the form of a ski mounted directly uprights of the wheel 104 and can provide sufficient downforce even while maintaining a nominal gap distance from the hull. This gap flexibility not only avoids undesirable friction with the hull, but also provides tolerance to hull irregularities and non-magnetic material, such as the fouling that the robot 100 cleans.

[0058] Each ski 122 can include an extension 132 for coupling the ski 122 to various features of the robot 100. As shown, the extension 132 can include an opening that can receive one or more features for attaching the ski 122 to the chassis 102. FIG. 5 illustrates an example schematic of the ski 122 being suspended and / or co-located via springs 134 received in the openings of the extensions 132. The springs 134 can be biased to provide the nominal gap distance from the hull, thereby preventing friction between the robot 100 and the hull during motion.

[0059] It will be appreciated that to increase the magnetic flux area, the magnetic array 128 can be adjacent to the wheel(s) 104, and not embedded in the wheel(s) 104, as well as offset from the hull by a small gap, such that no direct contact occurs between the hull and the array 128. FIG. 6 illustrates the magnetic field lines of the array 128 when the ski 122 is positioned on a steel hull 140 of a ship, for example. As shown, when the array 128 is positioned such that the strong side faces towards the hull 140 and the weak side faces away from the hull 140, there canbe a higher density of magnet flux, and flux lines, on the strong side as opposed to on the weak side Some additional non-limiting examples of the magnetic attachment component can be a magnetic bar, an electromagnet, a coil, and so forth. In some embodiments, clamps, cables, vacuum suction, and tethers can be included within the scope of the magnetic attachment component of the present embodiments and / or be used in lieu of, or in addition to, the magnetic attachment component disclosed herein.

[0060] FIG. 7 illustrates the inverted suspension 110 of FIGS. 3A-3B that can allow the wheels 104 to be independently sprung in greater detail. As discussed above, the set of linkages 111 that couple the wheels 104 to the chassis 102 can include one or more chassis mounts 146 coupled to the compressible shock absorbers or springs 118 and the upper control arm 127, and one or more toe arm mounts 148 coupled to the lower control arms 112. The chassis mounts 146 and toe mounts 148 can be used to suspend each of the plurality of wheels 104 and the magnetic attachment component 122 from the chassis 102. The set of linkages 111 can include a tie / toe rod 149 that can set an angle of the wheels 104 about the vertical axis, thereby preventing one or more of the wheels from rotating (i.e. steering).

[0061] FIG. 8 illustrates the attachment of the cleaning element 106 to the chassis 102 in greater detail. As shown, the cleaning element 106 can be attached via a brush arm 150 to a brush arm mount 152 that is coupled to the chassis 102. The coupling between the brush arm 150 and the brush arm mount 152 can form a pivoting connection about a pin 154 to allow the cleaning element 106 to pivot relative to the chassis 102, thereby allowing the cleaning element 106 to adjust its height to conform to a shape of the hull 140 during the motion of the robot 100. A belt motor 153 can drive a flexible drive belt 155 to rotate the cleaning element 106 during motion of the robot 100 to clean the hull.

[0062] It will be appreciated that in contrast to the streamlining of traditional automobiles, the primary streamlining in the robot 100 is not against flow in the direction of the crawler’s travel, but rather against flow perpendicular to it, or from the motion of the ship being cleaned. Referring back to FIG. 1, the hydrodynamic shell, or housing 108, disposed over the chassis 102 can typically be a symmetrical housing, e.g., have a crab-like shape, in which at least some components of the robot 100 (e.g., the cleaning element 106, the inverted suspension 110, themagnetic attachment component 122, the wheel assembly 120) can be at least partially disposed or at least partially enclosed. It will be appreciated that symmetry of the housing 108 can allow use of a single brush in a round trip of the robot 100, while asymmetry would use two brushes to maintain a given orientation in a round trip. While in the illustrated embodiment the cleaning apparatus 106 is predominantly disposed outside of the shell 108, in other embodiments, it can be predominantly or fully disposed or enclosed within the shell 108, as shown. The shell 108 can be designed to create hydrodynamic forces that assist in operation of the robot 100. For example, the shape of the shell 108 can be such that it maximizes downforce and minimizes the drag coefficient. That is, the shell 108 can reduce a drag force associated with at least one of a movement of the ship hull through a body of water or a movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the design of the shell can play a role in diverting water flow through the wheels 104.

[0063] Alternatively, a shell 108' can have a skirt shape, as shown in FIG. 9. This flexible design can abandon the previous idea of inducing downforce on the robot 100 thanks to the Venturi effect, and focuses on fitting a side skirt 108' that can extend to the surface of the hull 140 to redirect the flow above the robot 100. The skirt-shaped shell 108' can merge a lip 131 of the robot with the hull 140 for smooth flow with no under-carriage pressure buildup. It will be appreciated that the side skirt 108' can increase a downforce of the robot 100' due to the flow pushing the robot 100' downwards.

[0064] FIG. 10 illustrates an example embodiment of a robot 200 having an alternate embodiment of a housing 208 disposed on the chassis 102, with the housing 208 shown in greater detail in FIGS. 11 A-12B. It will be appreciated that the features discussed with respect to the robot 100 also apply to the robot 200, except where indicated. A detailed discussion of the components of the robot 200 are omitted herein for the sake of brevity.

[0065] For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the housing 208 can include one or more hydrofoils 162 that can be mounted on the front and rear of the robot 200 to minimize lift of the robot 200 during motion along the hull 140. The hydrofoils 162 can be shaped like inverted wings that create an additional downforce on the robot 200, which can facilitate adhesion of the robot 200 to the hull 140, despite being subject to high velocity and turbulent current. It will beappreciated that a coefficient of lift and coefficient of drag (Cl / Cd) of the robot 200 can be higher than a 2.6 ratio.

[0066] The robot 200 can be subject to an inversion of flow when the robot 200 turns in its path along the ship’s hull 140. To remedy the use of pitch on the hydrofoils 162, a pitch or angle of attack of the hydrofoils 162 can be moved and / or adjusted to face another direction, as shown in FIG. 12A-12B, at least in part on a direction and / or a change of direction of the robot 200 along the hull 140. That is, the hydrofoils 162 can be oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of fluid that is not aligned with a direction associated with the plurality of wheels 104 moving the robot 200 along the surface of the hull 140. That is, the hydrofoils 162 can be oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of fluid associated with the movement of the hull 140 through the body of water that is perpendicular to a direction associated with the movement of the robot along the surface of the hull 140. Rotation of the hydrofoils 162 can occur either passively or actively. By changing direction during motion, the hydrofoils 162 can allow the robot 200 to maintain its downforce onto the hull 140 throughout its motion despite turning and travelling in an alternative direction.

[0067] FIG. 13 illustrates an orientation of the housing 108 of the robot relative to a flow 160 during motion. As shown, the flow 160 over the housing 108 can create a downforce into the hull 140 which can help the robot 100 stay attached thereto when the hull 140 is moving through the water. The robot 100 can be operated manually, semi-autonomously, or fully autonomously. For example, the robot 100 can be programmed to travel along a designated path and / or be configured to detect a path to be followed for purposes of cleaning and follow that path. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that even if the robot 100 is configured to follow a designated path, various outside factors (e. , the water in which the ship is disposed, weather, animals and / or materials disposed in the water and / or attached to the hull of the ship, etc.) may cause the robot to deviate from that path. For purposes of this disclosure, to the extent the robot 100 is described as following a designated path, it is still considered to be following the designated path even if outside factors cause it to deviate from that path.

[0068] FIGS. 14-16 illustrate example embodiments of paths that the robot 100 can travel along a ship 1. For example, in some embodiments, a path 170 can be taken along the ship 1,with the path 170 being non-specific with respect to the ship 1 and the water level such that the robot 100 moves above and below the water line without a symmetric path. As shown, the path 170 can include one or more keep-out zones or regions 180 throughout the ship 1 which can be pre-programmed to prevent the robot 100 from interfering with critical ship components. While the keep-out regions 180 can be programmed to include the propeller and / or the bow, the keep- out regions 180 can be located anywhere along the hull 140 that are desirable.

[0069] Alternatively, or in addition, the robot 100 can follow a path 172 that is perpendicular to the water flow, as shown in FIGS. 15-16, which can help optimize energy expenditure during cleaning. As shown, the perpendicular path 172 can clean the side of the hull 140, as shown in FIG. 15, or cross under the hull 140, as shown, in FIG. 16, thereby cleaning the vertical sides and the bottom of the ship 1 . Having the robot 100 travel perpendicular to water flow 160, as opposed to longitudinally along the hull 140, prevents the robot 100 from having to fight the flow in certain directions and can allow the robot 100 to avoid obstacles along the hull 140 more readily.

[0070] FIG. 17 illustrates orientation and motion of the robot 100 relative to the flow 160 in greater detail. For example, during motion of the robot along the path 172 that is not aligned with the flow 160, the robot 100 can be oriented such that the housing 108 is parallel to the flow 160, while the wheels 104 and the motion of the robot 100 remains perpendicular, or substantially perpendicular, to the flow 160. It will be appreciated that the term “substantially perpendicular” can include a tolerance of about 20 degrees or less, about 15 degrees or less, about 10 degrees or less, about 5 degrees or less, about 3 degrees or less, about 1 degree or less, and / or about 0.5 degrees or less from a 90-degree angle.

[0071] Travel along the perpendicular path 172 can allow the robot 100 to not expend energy fighting the fluid flow. Moreover, in some embodiments, the robot 100 can be programmed to turn above the water line, as shown in FIG. 17, to maintain its wheels 104 perpendicular to the flow 160. The robot 100 is streamlined in a single direction, and turning in the water would result in the robot 100 not being streamlined in the direction of the flow, which could overcome the downforce and cause lift in the robot 100 from the hull 140. By turning above the water line, the robot 100 can remain streamlined in every orientation, and can assist with navigation byresetting to zero any accumulated drift or error in the robot’s position tracking system from its motion while underwater, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0072] Various mechanisms for locating and / or communicating with the robot 100, referred to as location devices, can be used to direct the robot 100 along the hull 140 to perform the cleaning. FIG. 18 illustrates an example embodiment in which one or more location devices or beacons 186 can be disposed along a portion of the ship 1 that can be disposed above the water, and / or help the robot 100 return to a designated path (or to update the designated path based at least in part on the communication with or data from the location devices or beacons 186). As shown, the beacons 186 can be distributed around the hull 140, and preferably above the water line, such that the robot 100 can send signals 192 therebetween to provide positional information and / or cleaning instructions. It will be appreciated that the robot 100 communicates with the beacons 186 when the robot is above the water level as the signal 192 travels therebetween unimpeded, though in some embodiments, the robot 100 can send and / or receive signals when immersed in the water. The beacons 186 can determine a distance traveled by the robot 100 as the robot 100 is moving along the path 172 based at least in part on a two-dimensional (2D) sensing system independent of a wheel encoder and / or based on the 2D sensing system.

[0073] FIG. 19 is a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of a computer system 1500 upon which the controller or control system of the present disclosures can be built, performed, trained, and so forth, to help control the various features of the robot 100, 200 and / or the beacons 190, used in conjunction with the same, as well as analyze the data received from the robot 100, 200, the beacons 190, any component thereof, and / or an environment. For example, any devices or systems can be examples of the system 1500 described herein. For example, as described above, the computer system 1500 (e.g., a controller or a plurality of controllers) can use the data or information measured and / or generated by the robot 100, and other data or parameters measured (e.g., print parameters, environment parameters) to generate data or information such as topographic image(s) and / or 3D-map(s) described above. Such information can be displayed to a user, such as on a display device (e.g., screen or other devices described below or otherwise known to those skilled in the art) or otherwise outputted for viewing by the user (e.g., printed, such as on paper or other medium).

[0074] The system 1500 can include a processor 1510, a memory 1520, a storage device 1530, and an input / output device 1540. Each of the components 1510, 1520, 1530, and 1540 can be interconnected, for example, using a system bus 1550. The processor 1510 can be capable of processing instructions for execution within the system 1500. The processor 1510 can be a single-threaded processor, a multi -threaded processor, or similar device. The processor 1510 can be capable of processing instructions stored in the memory 1520 or on the storage device 1530. The processor 1510 may execute operations such as, by way of non-limiting examples, control the paths 170, 172 of the robot 100, schedule stop and start, and so forth. The computer system 1500 may further embed or execute machine-learning techniques, artificial intelligence, and / or digital twinning that can aid in improving performance.

[0075] The memory 1520 can store information within the system 1500. In some implementations, the memory 1520 can be a computer-readable medium. The memory 1520 can, for example, be a volatile memory unit or a non-volatile memory unit. In some implementations, the memory 1520 can store information related to metamaterial composition, measured parameters, and so forth.

[0076] The storage device 1530 can be capable of providing mass storage for the system 1500. In some implementations, the storage device 1530 can be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The storage device 1530 can include, for example, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, a solid-date drive, a flash drive, magnetic tape, and / or some other large capacity storage device. The storage device 1530 may alternatively be a cloud storage device, e.g., a logical storage device including multiple physical storage devices distributed on a network and accessed using a network. In some implementations, the information stored on the memory 1520 can also or instead be stored on the storage device 1530.

[0077] The input / output device 1540 can provide input / output operations for the system 1500. In some implementations, the input / output device 1540 can include one or more of network interface devices (e.g., an Ethernet card or an InfiniBand interconnect), a serial communication device (e.g., an RS-232 10 port), and / or a wireless interface device (e.g., a short-range wireless communication device, an 802.7 card, a 3G wireless modem, a 4G wireless modem, a 5G wireless modem). In some implementations, the input / output device 1540 can include driverdevices configured to receive input data and send output data to other input / output devices, e.g., a keyboard, a printer, and / or display devices. In some implementations, mobile computing devices, mobile communication devices, and other devices can be used.

[0078] In some implementations, the system 1500 can be a microcontroller. A microcontroller is a device that contains multiple elements of a computer system in a single electronics package. For example, the single electronics package could contain the processor 1510, the memory 1520, the storage device 1530, and / or input / output devices 1540.

[0079] Although an example processing system has been described above, implementations of the subject matter and the functional operations described above can be implemented in other types of digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Implementations of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a tangible program carrier, for example a computer- readable medium, for execution by, or to control the operation of, a system for scheduling irrigation events. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them.

[0080] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented at least in part in any conventional computer programming language. For example, some embodiments may be implemented in a procedural programming language (e.g., “C” or ForTran95), in an object- oriented programming language e.g., “C++”), and / or other programming languages (e.g. Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, and / or SQL). Other embodiments may be implemented as a preconfigured, stand-along hardware element and / or as preprogrammed hardware elements e.g., application specific integrated circuits, FPGAs, and digital signal processors), or other related components.

[0081] The term “computer system” may encompass all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including, by way of non-limiting examples, a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. A processing system can include, in addition tohardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g, code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them.

[0082] A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, executable logic, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, or declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a standalone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g, files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0083] Such implementation may include a series of computer instructions fixed either on a tangible, non-transitory medium, such as a computer readable medium. The series of computer instructions can embody all or part of the functionality previously described herein with respect to the system. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile or volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g, EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks or magnetic tapes; magneto optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a wide area network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

[0084] Those skilled in the art should appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages for use with many computer architectures or operating systems. Furthermore, such instructions may be stored in any memory device, such assemiconductor, magnetic, optical, or other memory devices, and may be transmitted using any communications technology, such as optical, infrared, microwave, or other transmission technologies.

[0085] Among other ways, such a computer program product may be distributed as a removable medium with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the network (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web). In fact, some embodiments may be implemented in a software-as-a-service model (“SAAS”) or cloud computing model, and / or as otherwise understood by a person skilled in the art. Of course, some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as a combination of both software (e.g., a computer program product) and hardware. Still other embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented as entirely hardware, or entirely software.

[0086] Examples of the above-described embodiments can include the following:1. A robot comprising: a chassis; a plurality of wheels configured to move the robot along a surface of a ship hull; a motor configured to power at least one wheel from the plurality of wheels; a magnetic attachment component for attaching the robot to the surface of the ship hull; a suspension having a set of linkages that suspend each of the plurality of wheels and the magnetic attachment component from the chassis; a cleaning element; and a housing within which one or more of the chassis, the plurality of wheels, the motor, the magnetic attachment component, the suspension, and the cleaning element are at least partially disposed.2. The robot of example 1, wherein the plurality of wheels are configured to move the robot along the surface of the ship hull in a single degree of freedom.3. The robot of example 1 or example 2, wherein the magnetic attachment component comprises at least one of one or more permanent, electromagnetic arrays, or semi-permanent magnet arrays.4. The robot of example 3, wherein the magnetic attachment component comprises a magnetic ski suspended from the chassis and at least one roller disposed on at least one end of the magnetic ski, the at least one roller being configured to place the Halbach array at a predetermined distance from a surface of the ship hull.5. The robot of any of examples 1 to 4, wherein the cleaning element comprises at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more waterjet cleaning elements.6. The robot of any of examples 1 to 5, wherein the housing comprises a hydrodynamic shell that is shaped and configured to create hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the hydrodynamic forces being exerted in response to a flow of fluid that is substantially perpendicular to a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull.7. The robot of example 6, wherein the hydrodynamic shell comprises one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, the one or more hydrofoils configured to create a downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the one or more hydrofoils being oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of fluid that is not aligned with a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull.8. The robot of any of examples 1 to 7, wherein the suspension is an inverted suspension, the inverted suspension including at least one of (i) a set of wheel linkages that suspend each wheel from the plurality of wheels from the chassis such that the wheel and the set of wheel linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis or (ii) a set of magnetic attachment linkages that suspend the magnetic attachment component from the chassis such that the magnetic attachment component and the set of magnetic attachment linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis.9. The robot of any of examples 1 to 8, wherein the magnetic attachment component magnetically attaches the robot to the surface of the ship hull.10. A robot, comprising: a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis that is configured to roll along a surface of a ship hull; a magnetic attachment component configured to attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull; and a housing within which at least one of a cleaning element and the wheel assembly are at least partially disposed, the housing forming a hydrodynamic shell shaped and configured to:(i) reduce a drag force associated with at least one of a movement of the ship hull through a body of water or a movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull; and(ii) create a downforce that facilitates adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.11. The robot of example 10, wherein the wheel assembly is configured such that the magnetic attachment component is spaced a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the wheel rolls along the surface.12. The robot of example 10 or example 1 1 , wherein the hydrodynamic shell comprises one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, the hydrofoils configured to increase the downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.13. The robot of example 12, wherein the one or more hydrofoils are oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of water associated with the movement of the ship hull through the body of water, the flow of water associated with the movement of the ship hull through the body of water being perpendicular to a direction associated with the movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull.14. The robot of example 12 or example 13, wherein the hydrofoils are configured such that a pitch of the hydrofoils is adjustable based at least in part on a direction of the movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull.15. The robot of any of examples 10 to 14, further comprising: a cleaning element suspended from the chassis of the robot, the cleaning element including at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more waterjet cleaning elements, the cleaning element configured to clean the ship hull as the robot moves along the surface of the ship hull.16. The robot of any of examples 10 to 15, wherein the magnetic attachment component is configured to magnetically attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull.17. A method of cleaning a ship hull, the method comprising: attaching a robot to the ship hull; operating the robot to move along a path on a surface of at least a portion of the ship hull while the ship hull is moving through a body of water, the robot cleaning the surface while the robot is moving with respect to the ship hull; communicating with one or more location devices as the robot is moving along a portion of the path that is above a water line; and updating the path based, at least in part, on the communicating with the one or more location devices.18. The method of example 17, wherein the robot includes a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to move the robot along at least the portion of the ship hull and a magnetic attachment component configured to attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the method further comprising: maintaining the magnetic attachment component at a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the robot is moving along the path.19. The method of example 17 or example 18, wherein operating the robot to move along the path includes: moving the robot in a first direction that is perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water; turning the robot above the water line; andmoving the robot in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the second direction being perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water.20. The method of example 19, further comprising: determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the first direction along the path based at least in part on a 2D sensing system independent of a wheel encoder; and determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the second direction along the path based at least in part on the 2D sensing system.21. The method of example 20, further comprising: generating, based at least in part on a configuration of a hydrodynamic shell of the robot and caused by the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell, hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.22. The method of example 21, wherein the hydrodynamic shell includes one or more hydrofoils selectively oriented to create a downforce in response to the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water, the method further comprising: adjusting a pitch of the one or more hydrofoils based at least in part on a direction of the robot moving along the path on the surface of at least the portion of the ship hull.23. The method of any of examples 17 to 22, wherein the robot is magnetically attached to the ship hull.

[0087] One skilled in the art will appreciate further features and advantages of the disclosure based on the above-described embodiments. The specific terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and / or features or components thereof and is not intended to be limiting. While various schematics, embodiments, and / or implementations have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Various modifications, changes, and / or variations in form and / or detailmay be made without departing from the scope and / or spirit of the disclosure and / or without altering the function and / or advantages thereof unless expressly stated otherwise. Likewise, while embodiments (and / or features, components, configurations, aspects, etc. thereof) may be described above in the context of certain implementations, it should be understood that such implementations are presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Any of the embodiments (and / or features, components, configurations, aspects, etc. thereof) can be used in, and / or adapted for use in, other implementations unless expressly stated otherwise. Functionally equivalent embodiments, implementations, and / or methods, in addition to those described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions and are intended to fall within the scope and / or spirit of the disclosure.

[0088] Where schematics, embodiments, and / or implementations described above indicate certain components arranged in certain orientations, configurations, or positions, the arrangement of components may be modified. Although various embodiments have been described as having particular features, configurations, and / or combinations of components, other embodiments are possible having a combination of any features, configurations, and / or components from any of embodiments described herein, except mutually exclusive combinations. The embodiments described herein can include various combinations and / or sub-combinations of the functions, components, configurations, and / or features of the different embodiments described.

[0089] The specific configurations of the various components can also be varied. For example, the size and specific shape of the various components can be different from the embodiments shown, while still providing the functions as described herein. More specifically, the size and shape of the various components can be specifically selected for a desired or intended usage. Thus, it should be understood that the size, shape, and / or arrangement of the embodiments and / or components thereof can be adapted for a given use unless the context explicitly states otherwise.

[0090] Where methods described above indicate certain events, steps, and / or procedures occurring in certain order, the ordering of certain events, steps, and / or procedures may be modified. Additionally, certain of the events, steps, and / or procedures may be performed concurrently in a parallel process, when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above. While methods have been described as having particular steps and / or combinations ofsteps, other methods are possible having a combination of any steps from any of methods described herein, except mutually exclusive combinations and / or unless the context clearly states otherwise.

[0091] All publications and references cited herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Claims

1. What is claimed is:

1. A robot compri sing : a chassis; a plurality of wheels configured to move the robot along a surface of a ship hull; a motor configured to power at least one wheel from the plurality of wheels; a magnetic attachment component for attaching the robot to the surface of the ship hull; a suspension having a set of linkages that suspend each of the plurality of wheels and the magnetic attachment component from the chassis; a cleaning element; and a housing within which one or more of the chassis, the plurality of wheels, the motor, the magnetic attachment component, the suspension, and the cleaning element are at least partially disposed.

2. The robot of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wheels are configured to move the robot along the surface of the ship hull in a single degree of freedom.

3. The robot of claim 1, wherein the magnetic attachment component comprises at least one of one or more permanent, electromagnetic arrays, or semi -permanent magnet arrays.

4. The robot of claim 3, wherein the magnetic attachment component comprises a magnetic ski suspended from the chassis and at least one roller disposed on at least one end of the magnetic ski, the at least one roller being configured to place the Halbach array at a predetermined distance from a surface of the ship hull.

5. The robot of claim 1, wherein the cleaning element comprises at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more water jet cleaning elements.

6. The robot of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a hydrodynamic shell that is shaped and configured to create hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the hydrodynamic forces being exerted in response to a flow of fluid that is substantially perpendicular to a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

7. The robot of claim 6, wherein the hydrodynamic shell comprises one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, the one or more hydrofoils configured to create a downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the one or more hydrofoils being oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of fluid that is not aligned with a direction associated with the plurality of wheels moving the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

8. The robot of claim 1, wherein the suspension is an inverted suspension, the inverted suspension including at least one of (i) a set of wheel linkages that suspend each wheel from the plurality of wheels from the chassis such that the wheel and the set of wheel linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis or (ii) a set of magnetic attachment linkages that suspend the magnetic attachment component from the chassis such that the magnetic attachment component and the set of magnetic attachment linkages are disposed outboard of the chassis.

9. A robot, comprising: a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis that is configured to roll along a surface of a ship hull; a magnetic attachment component configured to attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull; and a housing within which at least one of a cleaning element and the wheel assembly are at least partially disposed, the housing forming a hydrodynamic shell shaped and configured to:(i) reduce a drag force associated with at least one of a movement of the ship hull through a body of water or a movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull; and(ii) create a downforce that facilitates adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.

10. The robot of claim 9, wherein the wheel assembly is configured such that the magnetic attachment component is spaced a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the wheel rolls along the surface.11 . The robot of claim 9, wherein the hydrodynamic shell comprises one or more hydrofoils extending from the hydrodynamic shell, the hydrofoils configured to increase the downforce that facilitates the adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.

12. The robot of claim 11, wherein the one or more hydrofoils are oriented to create the downforce in response to a flow of water associated with the movement of the ship hull through the body of water, the flow of water associated with the movement of the ship hull through the body of water being perpendicular to a direction associated with the movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

13. The robot of claim 11, wherein the hydrofoils are configured such that a pitch of the hydrofoils is adjustable based at least in part on a direction of the movement of the robot along the surface of the ship hull.

14. The robot of claim 9, further comprising: a cleaning element suspended from the chassis of the robot, the cleaning element including at least one of one or more brushes, one or more heating elements, one or more ultraviolet elements, or one or more waterjet cleaning elements, the cleaning element configured to clean the ship hull as the robot moves along the surface of the ship hull.

15. A method of cleaning a ship hull, the method comprising: attaching a robot to the ship hull; operating the robot to move along a path on a surface of at least a portion of the ship hull while the ship hull is moving through a body of water, the robot cleaning the surface while the robot is moving with respect to the ship hull; communicating with one or more location devices as the robot is moving along a portion of the path that is above a water line; and updating the path based, at least in part, on the communicating with the one or more location devices.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the robot includes a wheel assembly suspended from a chassis, the wheel assembly including a wheel configured to move the robot along at least theportion of the ship hull and a magnetic attachment component configured to attach the robot to the surface of the ship hull, the method further comprising: maintaining the magnetic attachment component at a predetermined distance from the surface of the ship hull as the robot is moving along the path.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein operating the robot to move along the path includes: moving the robot in a first direction that is perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water; turning the robot above the water line; and moving the robot in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the second direction being perpendicular to a flow of water across the robot caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the first direction along the path based at least in part on a 2D sensing system independent of a wheel encoder; and determining a distance traveled by the robot as the robot is moving in the second direction along the path based at least in part on the 2D sensing system.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: generating, based at least in part on a configuration of a hydrodynamic shell of the robot and caused by the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell, hydrodynamic forces that facilitate adhesion of the robot to the surface of the ship hull.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the hydrodynamic shell includes one or more hydrofoils selectively oriented to create a downforce in response to the flow of water across the hydrodynamic shell caused by the ship hull moving through the body of water, the method further comprising: adjusting a pitch of the one or more hydrofoils based at least in part on a direction of the robot moving along the path on the surface of at least the portion of the ship hull.

Images