Collaborative Research: Mesobot: a robot for investigating the ocean interior

合作研究：Mesobot：用于调查海洋内部的机器人

• 批准号: 1636510
• 负责人: John Breier
• 金额: $ 19.66万
• 依托单位: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1636510&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Mesobot; robot; investigating

The ocean's midwater realm is the next frontier for underwater robots. The mesopelagic or "twilight" zone encompasses depths from 200 to 1000 meters where sunlight is dim. This vast region plays a key role in regulating ocean chemistry and biology, which in turn strongly effects global climate. The mesopelagic zone holds much of our planet's fish populations as well as poorly understood processes that couple the ocean surface to the seafloor including vertical fluxes of plankton, organic and inorganic particles, bubbles, and droplets. Mesopelagic features are often mobile, patchy, and ephemeral, so surveys and sampling can be very difficult. Recent studies have found that mesopelagic biomass including fish are dramatically underestimated, yet investigations of patterns and processes in this region are strongly constrained by available technology.This program will produce a unique new robot that will enable unprecedented scientific access to midwater environments, complementing existing survey and sampling tools. The robot will use cameras, lights, and oceanographic sensors to autonomously track slow-moving individual targets such as migrating mid-water animals, descending particles, and rising bubbles and droplets without disturbing those targets. It will also have the ability to detect and follow fine-scale oceanographic features such as thin layers that hold critical nutrients. Finally, the robot will take samples utilizing on-board intelligence to determine precisely when and where to sample. Under this program, the robot will be built and tested under a collaboration between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Stanford University, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

海洋中层水域是水下机器人的下一个前沿领域。 中层或“暮光”区包括 200 至 1000 米的深度，那里阳光暗淡。这个广阔的区域在调节海洋化学和生物学方面发挥着关键作用，进而强烈影响全球气候。中层带拥有地球上的大部分鱼类种群，以及人们知之甚少的将海洋表面与海底连接起来的过程，包括浮游生物、有机和无机颗粒、气泡和水滴的垂直通量。中层特征通常是移动的、不完整的和短暂的，因此调查和采样可能非常困难。 最近的研究发现，包括鱼类在内的中层生物量被大大低估，但对该地区的模式和过程的调查受到现有技术的强烈限制。该计划将生产一种独特的新型机器人，它将能够对中层水环境进行前所未有的科学访问，补充现有的调查和采样工具。该机器人将使用摄像头、灯光和海洋传感器来自动跟踪缓慢移动的单个目标，例如迁移的中水动物、下降的颗粒以及上升的气泡和水滴，而不会干扰这些目标。它还将具有检测和跟踪精细海洋特征的能力，例如含有关键营养物质的薄层。最后，机器人将利用机载智能进行采样，以准确确定采样的时间和地点。根据该计划，该机器人将在伍兹霍尔海洋研究所、蒙特利湾水族馆研究所、斯坦福大学和德克萨斯大学里奥格兰德河谷分校的合作下建造和测试。