Hull-Cleaning Robot Monitoring for Damage-Aware Pause Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing antifouling coatings for vessel hulls face challenges due to varying operating conditions and regulatory restrictions, while robotic cleaning systems risk damage during unsafe conditions, leading to inefficiencies and potential harm to the robot or environment.
Innovation Solution
A robot system that continuously cleans the hull while traveling, pausing cleaning operations based on input data to avoid damage, using sensors and geographical models to determine safe cleaning conditions without tethering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If continuous cleaning is performed by the robot whilst travelling over the vessel, then fouling is reduced, but the robot is at risk of damage under unsafe conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring module continuously receives input data from sensors and determines whether cleaning should be paused or restarted based on real-time conditions. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt cleaning operations dynamically, ensuring productivity when safe and protecting the robot when conditions are unsafe.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation transitions from a static continuous process to a dynamic one that can pause and resume based on changing conditions. The monitoring module enables the robot to adjust its operational state in real-time, switching between cleaning and pausing modes to balance productivity and safety.
2Reliability
If cleaning is paused to avoid damage risk, then robot safety is improved, but cleaning efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses continuous monitoring and feedback to determine when to pause and when to resume cleaning. By accurately assessing safety conditions and making data-driven decisions, the system minimizes unnecessary pauses while ensuring robot protection, thereby optimizing the balance between safety and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring module performs preliminary assessment of safety conditions before allowing cleaning to proceed. By evaluating input data in advance and predicting potential risks, the system can prevent damage before it occurs while minimizing interruptions to the cleaning process.
3Reliability
If manual initiation or predefined frequency cleaning is used, then robot safety is maintained, but fouling prevention is less effective
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual or schedule-based initiation with automated feedback-driven control. Sensors continuously monitor conditions and provide input to the monitoring module, which automatically determines when cleaning should occur based on actual safety and fouling conditions, maximizing both safety and effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot system performs self-monitoring and self-regulation of cleaning operations through the monitoring module. The system autonomously decides when to clean based on sensor data and predetermined criteria, eliminating the need for manual intervention while optimizing cleaning effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of controlling a robot configured to clean a hull of a vessel whilst traveling over said hull, the method comprising: receiving input data; during cleaning being performed by the robot, detecting that said cleaning being performed by the robot is to be paused based on determining, from the input data, that the robot is at risk of damage; and 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.