Integration and Performance Study of Full Functional Sea Farm Inspection Platform for Aquaculture Application

Abstract

This paper describes the incremental development of a concept called Sea Farm Inspection Platform. The purpose of the project is twofold. Firstly, it is a very relevant and good project for students. Secondly, there are significant opportunities for such innovations in the aquaculture industry. The Sea Farm Inspection Platform consists of essentially a low-cost USV (semi-submersible design) that carries a low-cost ROV that can be used to inspect aquafarm installations. The operation principle is that the USV can be navigated to the desired location by the use of thrusters, either operated manually or through the built-in autopilot. When the desired location is reached the ROV can be deployed and lowered into the water column by using the on-board launch and recovery system which consists of a winch and a docking mechanism. The ROV has a camera and environmental sensors and has thrusters that allow it to change heading (yaw) and position in the horizontal plane (surge and sway), the vertical position (heave) is controlled by the winch. Hence, the ROV has negative buoyancy and is hanging below the USV as a pendulum. Structural integrity of fish farms is paramount. This applies to structures, nets and moorings. The installations are expensive by themself and the nets contain fish of significant value. Escaped fish can cause great financial loss to the owners and severe damage to the environment. Further, it is important to monitor the health and the ability for the fish to utilise the fodder. Aquafarms are subject to diseases from pathogens and algae blooms can kill all the fish in an installation in a very short time. Hence, thorough inspection and monitoring of the facilities is extremely important. This innovation is a step down the path towards more automation in the aquaculture industry and will hopefully inspire developments of similar products. The project is now in its 3rd year. There have been a series incremental developments as more or less new teams of students have been working on the project every semester. From a pedagogical point of view, this project has served as a good example of Project-Based Learning. In the following sections, we will describe some of the recent changes in the design and the integration process. One section will also give more background on the pedagogical aspects of the project and how well it complies with the concept of Project-Based Learning and Constructive Alignment.