Hull-Cleaning Monitoring Module for Vessel Speed-Based Robot Pausing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing antifouling coatings for vessel hulls face challenges due to changing vessel trade routes and water conditions, leading to inefficient fouling prevention and increased risk of marine organisms settling, while traditional robot cleaning methods are complex and error-prone, especially when vessels operate at different speeds or in restricted harbors.
Innovation Solution
A robot-controlled monitoring module that continuously cleans the vessel hull while traveling, pausing and restarting cleaning based on vessel speed thresholds and fouling risk assessments, using sensors to determine optimal cleaning times and reduce biocide use, allowing for biocide-free or low-biocide coatings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If continuous cleaning is performed by the robot, then fouling risk is reduced, but robot damage risk increases when vessel speed is high
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning operation is made dynamic by automatically pausing when vessel speed exceeds a threshold and resuming when speed drops below the threshold. This allows the system to adapt to changing operating conditions, maintaining effective cleaning during low-speed periods while protecting the robot during high-speed periods when damage risk is elevated.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from vessel speed measurements to control the cleaning operation. Speed sensors continuously monitor vessel speed and provide feedback to the control system, which automatically adjusts cleaning state based on the feedback signal, creating a closed-loop control mechanism that balances cleaning effectiveness with robot safety.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If cleaning is paused during high speed, then robot damage risk is reduced, but fouling accumulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts cleaning operation based on real-time vessel speed conditions. By automatically transitioning between paused and active cleaning states according to speed thresholds, the system optimizes the balance between protecting the robot and preventing fouling accumulation, adapting to the varying operational context.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary assessment of vessel speed before initiating or continuing cleaning operations. By monitoring speed and predicting when conditions will be suitable for cleaning, the system can prepare and resume cleaning operations promptly when safe conditions return, minimizing periods without effective fouling prevention.
3Ease of operation
If manual initiation or predefined frequency cleaning is used, then robot control is simple, but cleaning optimality decreases when vessel trade changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the robot to autonomously determine when cleaning should occur based on real-time monitoring of vessel speed and fouling conditions. The robot self-adjusts its operation without requiring manual intervention or predefined schedules, automatically optimizing cleaning timing according to actual operating conditions while maintaining simple operation through automated decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from speed sensors and fouling monitoring to automatically adjust cleaning operations. This closed-loop control allows the system to adapt to changing vessel trade routes and operating conditions without complex manual programming, maintaining both operational simplicity and adaptive optimality through continuous environmental monitoring and automatic response.
4Reliability
If antifouling coatings with biocides are used, then fouling prevention is effective, but environmental restrictions increase in certain harbors
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes the need for biocidal chemicals by implementing mechanical cleaning through the robot. By physically removing fouling organisms through abrasion and scraping mechanisms, the system replaces chemical antifouling methods with a mechanical alternative that is universally acceptable in all harbors without environmental restrictions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system substitutes mechanical cleaning action for chemical biocide application. The robot employs mechanical means such as abrasive pads, brushes, or scraping elements to physically remove fouling, replacing the chemical mechanism of biocide-based antifouling coatings with a mechanical removal system that avoids environmental contamination concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a robot configured to clean a hull of a vessel whilst travelling over said hull, the method comprising: receiving at least one signal indicative of a speed of the vessel; during cleaning being performed by the robot, detecting that cleaning being performed by the robot is to be paused based on (i) determining, from said at least one signal, that the speed of the vessel exceeds a predetermined speed threshold, or (ii) predicting, using said at least one signal, that the speed of the vessel will exceed the predetermined speed threshold within a predetermined time period; in response to said detecting that cleaning being performed by the robot is to be paused, outputting a pause cleaning signal indicating that said cleaning is to be paused; whilst said cleaning is paused, detecting that cleaning performed by the robot is to be restarted based on the determining that the speed of the vessel has dropped below the predetermined threshold, and in response, outputting a restart cleaning signal indicating that cleaning by the robot is to be restarted.