Smoothed A* algorithm for practical unmanned surface vehicle path planning

An effective path planning or route planning algorithm is essential for guiding unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) between way points or along a trajectory. The A* algorithm is one of the most efficient algorithms for calculating a safe route with the shortest distance cost. However, the route generated by the conventional A* algorithm is constrained by the resolution of the map and it may not be compatible with the non-holonomic constraint of the USV. In this paper an improved A* algorithm has been proposed and applied to the Springer USV. A new path smoothing process with three path smoothers has been developed to improve the performance of the generated route, reducing unnecessary ‘jags’, having no redundant waypoints and offering a more continuous route. Both simulation and experimental results show that the smoothed A* algorithm outperforms the conventional algorithm in both sparse and cluttered environments that have been uniformly rasterised. It has been demonstrated that the proposed improved A* route planning algorithm can be applied to the Springer USV providing promising results when tracking trajectories.     

Radar-based collision avoidance for unmanned surface vehicles

Unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have become a focus of research because of their extensive applications. To ensure safety and reliability and to perform complex tasks autonomously, USVs are required to possess accurate perception of the environment and effective collision avoidance capabilities. To achieve these, investigation into realtime marine radar target detection and autonomous collision avoidance technologies is required, aiming at solving the problems of noise jamming, uneven brightness, target loss, and blind areas in marine radar images. These technologies should also satisfy the requirements of real-time and reliability related to high navigation speeds of USVs. Therefore, this study developed an embedded collision avoidance system based on the marine radar, investigated a highly real-time target detection method which contains adaptive smoothing algorithm and robust segmentation algorithm, developed a stable and reliable dynamic local environment model to ensure the safety of USV navigation, and constructed a collision avoidance algorithm based on velocity obstacle (V-obstacle) which adjusts the USV’s heading and speed in real-time. Sea trials results in multi-obstacle avoidance firstly demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed avoidance system, and then verify its great adaptability and relative stability when a USV sailing in a real and complex marine environment. The obtained results will improve the intelligent level of USV and guarantee the safety of USV independent sailing.     

Derivation of Bathymetry from High-resolution Optical Satellite Imagery and USV Sounding Data

Remote sensing bathymetry inversion can quickly obtain water depth data of large areas, but this process relies on a large number of in-situ depth data points. USV-based (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) technique can obtain the bathymetry data of shallow water where ordinary ships are inaccessible, but this technique is inefficient and generally only data along survey line can be collected. The combination of USV and high-resolution remote sensing provides a new solution for water depth surveying and mapping around an island. This paper focuses on the key techniques, using USV sounding data and GeoEye-1 multispectral remote sensing images covering the region of Wuzhizhou island in the experiment. The results show that the MAE (Mean Absolute Error) of USV sounding is 0.25 m, while the MRE (Mean Relative Error) is 1.41%, and the MRE of remote sensing bathymetry aided by USV sounding can be controlled within 20%. Errors are mainly from areas shallower than 5 m, and are also affected by the USV sounding position accuracy. It shows that it is feasible to combine the USV sounding and high-resolution remote sensing bathymetry, and this technique has broad application prospects in the field of bathymetry in large shallow areas.     

Research on propeller dynamic load simulation system of electric propulsion ship

A dynamic marine propeller simulation system was developed, which is utilized for meeting the experimental requirement of theory research and engineering design of marine electric propulsion system. By applying an actual ship parameter and its accurate propeller J’~ KT’ and J’~KP’ curve data, functional experiments based on the simulation system were carried out. The experiment results showed that the system can correctly emulate the propeller characteristics, produce the dynamic and steady performances of the propeller under different navigation modes, and present actual load torque for electric propulsion motor.     

Use of swath data in realtime navigation by pattern recognition

Abstract

A new method is proposed with the aim of reducing dead reckoning error (DRE) during multibeam echosounding survey in deep ocean. Bathymetric data is used in this method to estimate DRE in position fixing. This method can be activated at any desired interval to check the DRE accumulation in addition to available external navigation systems. A pattern recognition algorithm is developed to quantify the shift in position of a selected bathymetric feature that has been observed already once. This difference is used to correct the position fixing and navigation data.     

A task-based hierarchical control strategy for autonomous motion of an unmanned surface vehicle swarm

In this paper, a hierarchical control framework with relevant algorithms is proposed to achieve autonomous navigation for an underactuated unmanned surface vehicle (USV) swarm. In order to implement automatic target tracking, obstacle avoidance and avoid collisions between group members, the control framework is divided into three layers based on task assignments: flocking strategy design, motion planning and control input design. The flocking strategy design transmits some basic orders to swarm members. Motion planning applies the potential function method and then improves it; thus, the issue of autonomous control is transformed into one of designing the velocity vector. In the last layer, the control inputs (surge force and yaw moment) are designed using the sliding mode method, and the problem of underactuation is handled synchronously. The proposed closed-loop controller is shown to be semi-asymptotically stable by applying Lyapunov stability theory, and the effectiveness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated via numeric simulations of a homogeneous USV swarm.     

一种新型无人船海洋水深测量技术

在海洋测深中,由于波浪和潮汐的影响,调查船或无人船所测量的瞬时水深不能直接作为海图水深。本文提出了一种新型的无人船海洋水深测量技术,以评估搭载RTK和单波束测深仪的无人船用于海洋水深测量的潜能。首先,使用无人船所搭载RTK的厘米级精度高程数据,通过低通滤波剔除波浪信息,而获得海平面高程。然后,基于潮汐表和无人船海平面高程,构建了一种参考椭球面和海图的两个基准面之差的获取方法;在常规的海洋调查中,该基准面差通常需要由长期的验潮获得。最后,利用海图基准和无人船测量的瞬时水深的转换关系,计算出海图水深。在海南省蜈支洲岛周边海域,利用自研发的无人船“USBV”开展了相关海上实验,以验证所提出的技术方法。实验结果验证了该无人船海洋水深测量技术。     

Development of a System for 3D High-resolution Seismic Reflection Profiling on Lakes

A high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection system for small-scale targets in lacustrine settings has been developed. Its main characteristics include navigation and shot-triggering software that fires the seismic source at regular distance intervals (max. error of 0.25 m) with real-time control on navigation using differential GPS (Global Positioning System). Receiver positions are accurately calculated (error<0.20 m) with the aid of GPS antennas attached to the end of each of three 24-channel streamers. Two telescopic booms hold the streamers at a distance of 7.5 m from each other. With a receiver spacing of 2.5 m, the bin dimension is 1.25 m in inline and 3.75 m in crossline direction. To test the system, we conducted a 3D survey of about 1 km² in Lake Geneva, Switzerland, over a complex fault zone. A 5-m shot spacing resulted in a nominal fold of 6. A double-chamber bubble-cancelling 15/15 in³ air gun (40–650 Hz) operated at 80 bars and 1 m depth gave a signal penetration of 300 m below water bottom and a best vertical resolution of 1.1 m. Processing followed a conventional scheme, but had to be adapted to the high sampling rates, and our unconventional navigation data needed conversion to industry standards. The high-quality data enabled us to construct maps of seismic horizons and fault surfaces in three dimensions. The system proves to be well adapted to investigate complex structures by providing non-aliased images of reflectors with dips up to 30°.     

无人船系统应用于水库水样离岸采集——以棘洪滩水库为例

水库水质监测是水库水质评价的重要依据,通常需要现场采水样后带回实验室进行检测与分析。然而一些特殊情况下,例如库区无船、情况复杂等,只能获得沿岸水样,导致水质监测结果无法代表水库整体水质质量。本文针对水库的水样离岸采集,基于自研发的无人船系统,设计集成了采水泵,并利用无人船位点跟踪技术,实现了远距离定点遥控采水样功能。在青岛棘洪滩水库,利用该系统,设置了两个采样点(离岸50 m和离岸1300 m),并成功获取了水样。在实验室内,利用分光光度计、离子色谱仪、电感耦合等离子体质谱仪等设备,完成了所采集水样的水质分析。实验结果表明,无人船应用于水库水样离岸采集具有可行性、实用性。     

Numerical modeling of flow and scour below a pipeline in currents: Part II. Scour simulation

A vertical two-dimensional (2D) numerical model for time dependent local scour below offshore pipelines subject to unidirectional steady flow is developed. The governing equations for the flow and sediment transport are solved by using finite difference method in a general curvilinear coordinate system. The performance of two turbulence models, the standard k–ɛ model and Smagorinsky subgrid scale (SGS) model, on modeling time dependent scour processes is examined. Both suspended load and bed load are considered in the scour model. The suspended-load model is verified against two channel sediment transport cases. The change of bed level is calculated from the continuity equation of total sediment transport. A new time marching scheme and a sand slide scheme are proposed for the scour calculation. It is found that the proposed time marching scheme and sand slide model work well for both clear-water and live-bed scour situations and the standard k–ɛ turbulence closure is more preferable than the SGS model in the 2D scour model developed in this study.     

Prediction of offshore bar-shape parameters resulted by cross-shore sediment transport using neural network

In order to understand the features of coastal zone and to utilize the coastal areas, it is necessary to determine the sediment movement and the resulting transport. Waves, topographic features, and material properties are known as the most important factors affecting the sediment movement and coastal profiles. In this study, by taking into consideration of wave height and period (H₀, T), bed slope (m) and sediment diameter (d₅₀), cross-shore sediment movement was studied in a physical model and various bar-shape parameters of the resultant erosion type profile were determined. Using 80 experimental data which are obtained from physical model studies, a neural network (NN) has been calibrated to predict bar-shape parameters of beach profiles. A sensitivity analysis was firstly carried out to decide data of training and test sets. Four different models, in which the rates of their training and testing set data were 80% and 20%, 70% and 30%, 60% and 40%, 50% and 50% were constituted and their performances were compared. It was determined that the model, in which the rate of its training and testing set data was 80% and 20%, respectively, has the best results. Therefore, a total of 64 experimental data were used as training set and the remainders of the experimental data were used as a testing set for the model. The performance of the NN model was compared with the regression equations developed in a previous study and the equations cited in literature indicating better performance over the equations.     

Benthic foraminifera as bioindicator for cold-water coral reef ecosystems along the Irish margin

Cold-water coral ecosystems building cold-water carbonate mounds occur worldwide and are especially developed along the European margin, from northern Norway to the Gulf of Cadiz. A remarkable mound province is documented southwest of Ireland along the Porcupine and Rockall Banks. In this area carbonate mounds are formed in water depths between 500 and 1200 m and are often densely settled by cold-water coral ecosystems offering many ecological niches for benthic foraminifera. We investigated total (unstained) benthic foraminiferal assemblages from surface sediments (0–1 cm, >63 μm size fraction) of this region with the aim to trace their distribution patterns and to test if they can be used as bioindicators for facies characterization in different parts of carbonate mound systems. Our quantitative data were further statistically treated with non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) based on Bray–Curtis similarity matrix to highlight community patterns that were not readily apparent. Our results indicate that different benthic foraminiferal assemblages characterize different facies along cold-water carbonate mounds and are related to the environmental conditions and available substrates. The following facies can be described: (1) the Off-Mound Facies is dominated by uvigerinids and other infaunal species; (2) the Dropstone Facies is characterized by infaunal Globocassidulina subglobosa and attached-epifaunal Cibicidoides sp.; (3) the Dead Coral Facies is characterised by epifaunal species (e.g., Planulina ariminensis, Hanzawaia boueana) and infaunal species (Spiroplectinella wrightii, Angulogerina angulosa, Epistominella vitrea); (4) the Living Coral Facies includes both infaunal and epifaunal species, but is dominated by the epifaunal Discanomalina coronata; and (5) the Sandwave Facies contains high abundances of epifaunal species including D. coronata. Based on this distribution, we propose D. coronata, as an indicator species to identify active mounds and/or living cold-water coral ecosystems. Our results also emphasise the importance of studying the small size fractions that yield many infaunal species. A causal link exists between distribution patterns of benthic foraminifera and cold-water coral facies, thus providing an independent tool to identify and describe the different facies in this setting.     

珠江口溶解有机物的遥感动态监测

河口有色溶解有机物（colored dissolved organic matter,CDOM）的分布是各种物理-生物地球化学过程共同作用的结果。为实现河口高动态变化CDOM的监测,遥感是一种重要的手段。由珠江口四个不同季节的航次获得的实测数据,本文构建了一个遥感算法以反演CDOM在400 nm的吸收系数（a_CDOM （400））。该算法使用以波段反射率比值R_rs （667）/R_rs （443）和R_rs （748）/R_rs （412）为自变量。将构建的算法应用于2002-2014年的MODIS/Aqua数据,本文计算了珠江口不同季节的a_CDOM （400）气候态分布。CDOM的分布主要受珠江径流量和区域水下地形特征的影响。沿着垂直于水深梯度的断面,气候态a_CDOM （400）呈指数减少（y=ae^bx,b<0）,但不同季节差异很大。珠江口CDOM主要是河流淡水输运而来。其中,富里酸比例随盐度的增加而降低。基于构建的算法、CDOM保守混合方程和径流量,本文由MODIS/Aqua数据进一步估算了2002-2014年夏季和冬季珠江DOC的有效入海浓度和有效入海通量。珠江的有效入海浓度和有效入海通量都与流量存在正相关关系,且在夏季的相关性更明显,R2分别为0.698和0.9657。     

Trade-wind waves and mud dynamics on the French Guiana coast,South America: Input from ERA-40 wave data and field investigations

The South American coast between Brazil and Venezuela is affected by longshore migrating mud banks derived from the fine-grained Amazon sediment discharge. Onshore mud migration prevails over shallow ‘bank’ areas alternating alongshore with deeper ‘inter-bank’ areas. The transport on the inner shelf, and attachment to the shoreline, of this migrating mud has been attributed mainly to wind waves. However, the lack of in situ data on waves hampers understanding of the relationship between waves and mud dynamics. A 44-yr record (1960–2004) of the ERA-40 wave dataset generated by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was used, in conjunction with field investigations in French Guiana, to define both event-scale and longer-term patterns of mud mobilisation induced by waves. The ratio H₀³ / T², combining wave height H and period T, and the angle of wave incidence α, were singled out as the most relevant parameters for describing wave forcing. Typical ‘bank’ and ‘inter-bank’ profiles and corresponding mud densities, and a 3-month record of changes in the thickness of the fluid mud layer in an estuarine navigation channel were monitored by echo-sounding from October 2002 to January 2003. An 80-day record of bed-level changes in the intertidal zone was obtained from August to November 2004 using a pressure transducer. The results on the wave regime of French Guiana confirm a distinctly seasonal pattern, and highlight an increase in H₀³ / T² over the 44-yr period related to an increase in trade-wind velocities determined from corresponding trends in Atlantic wind pseudo-stress off the South American coast. Wave forcing over bank areas leads to the liquefaction of a 1–3 m-thick layer of mud that is transported onshore (and alongshore by the longshore component of wave energy). The episodic nature of high wave energy events generally results in the formation of mud bar features from the shoreward mobilisation of gel-like fluid mud. The effect of waves on mud is particularly marked following long periods of low energy, and especially at the onset of the high wave energy season (October to May), when even moderate wave energy events can lead to significant mobilisation of mud.Significant phases of increased wave energy are attended by higher long-term (annual) rates of longshore mud bank migration but the correlation is rather poor between the wave forcing parameter H₀³ / T² and migration rates because stronger wave forcing is generally associated with low angles of wave incidence. This suggests a complementary role of other hydrodynamic mechanisms, such as geostrophic and tidal currents, in longshore mud bank migration.     

Multi-Behavior Fusion Based Potential Field Method for Path Planning of Unmanned Surface Vessel

The problem of the unmanned surface vessel(USV) path planning in static and dynamic obstacle environments is addressed in this paper. Multi-behavior fusion based potential field method is proposed, which contains three behaviors: goal-seeking, boundary-memory following and dynamic-obstacle avoidance. Then, different activation conditions are designed to determine the current behavior. Meanwhile, information on the positions, velocities and the equation of motion for obstacles are detected and calculated by sensor data. Besides, memory information is introduced into the boundary following behavior to enhance cognition capability for the obstacles, and avoid local minima problem caused by the potential field method. Finally, the results of theoretical analysis and simulation show that the collision-free path can be generated for USV within different obstacle environments, and further validated the performance and effectiveness of the presented strategy.     

Trajectory-cell based method for the unmanned surface vehicle motion planning

A trajectory-cell based method was proposed for unmanned surface vehicle (USV) motion planning to combine the expression of the dynamic constraints and the discretization of the search space. The dynamic constraints were expressed by the USV trajectories produced by the mathematical model. The search space was performed by the discretization rules with the consideration of the path continuity, the search convenience and the maneuvering simplification. Therefore, the trajectory-cells were the discretized trajectories, which made the search space meet the USV dynamic constraints, and guaranteed the final spliced path continuous. After abstracting the characteristics of those cells, the available waypoints and headings were represented as the search indexes. Finally, a trajectory-cell based path searching strategy was proposed by determining the cost function of the A* algorithm. The results showed that the proposed algorithm can plan a practical motion path for the USV.     

Evaluation of the applicability of a fuzzy index of ecosystem integrity (FINE) to characterize the status of Tyrrhenian lagoons

The new index FINE, a multimetric, fuzzy-based index for the evaluation of environmental quality for Mediterranean transitional waters, was calculated using biotic data gathered between 2000 and 2006 at 15 stations in 4 Tyrrhenian transitional water ecosystems (Orbetello Lagoon, Padrongiano Delta, Stagno di S. Teodoro, and Stagno di Tortolì), i.e. in a different biogeographic sub-province respect to the one in which the index was developed and validated. The rationale of FINE is that certain attributes, selected on the basis of established principles of benthic ecology, are fundamental for lagoon ecosystem function. A set of other indices (Simpson’s 1 − λ′, the W-statistics, AMBI, and BOPA) was also calculated and compared to FINE outputs. FINE, 1 − λ′, and the W-statistics were significantly correlated with sedimentary organic matter content. Some stations were unequivocally assigned to the same ecological status, independently from the index used; for others, some discrepancies were evident. Mediterranean transitional waters probably share ecosystem complexities which are not yet fully captured by indices developed and validated elsewhere.     

一种基于有限状态机模型的局部转向避碰路径规划算法

针对多礁石、渔船等障碍物的近海复杂环境下的一些应用,提出了一种基于有限状态机(finite-state machine,FSM)模型的无人船(unmanned surface vehicle,USV)局部转向避碰路径规划算法。首先,基于速度障碍法和障碍物区域分层方法,获取无人船固定航速条件下的航向角约束解析结果。然后,基于该约束条件及障碍物探测情况设计FSM的有限状态及执行动作和状态迁移条件,其中,通过转向控制实现向目标位点或缓冲位点进行导航的状态为FSM的2个重要状态。最终通过FSM的执行实现局部转向避碰路径规划。仿真结果表明提出的多障碍物避碰算法具有可行性和实用性。该方法易于改进和扩展,且容易与当前主流的无人船控制系统结合,有利于无人船避碰系统快速工程化的实现。     

Numerical and simplified methods for the calculation of the total horizontal wave force on a perforated caisson with a top cover

The VOF method and the k–ε model, combined with the equation of state of air at constant temperature, have been used to calculate the total horizontal wave force caused by monochromatic waves acting on a perforated caisson with a top cover. From comparison of various parameters, such as the total horizontal force, the pressure difference on the front wall, the pressure on the back wall and the pressure on the top cover, between the numerical results and test data, it can be seen that the numerical results agree well with the test data. It is concluded that the method described in this paper can be utilized to calculate wave forces acting on perforated caissons with a top cover in the case of nonovertopping, nonbreaking waves. A simplified method to calculate the total horizontal force has been developed, based on test data, using a least-squares method. A comparison between the numerical results and the values calculated from the simplified equations shows good agreement. Therefore the simplified equations can be used in engineering applications to evaluate the total horizontal force on a perforated caisson with a top cover.