MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS Correspondent Irina Skalina/. Students from Severodvinsk for the first time conducted tests of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) in the Arctic seas. Such trials are usually conducted in pools or fresh water reservoirs. During the Arctic Floating University expedition, Daniil Sushkov and Alexander Shkryabin proved their Lemming and Polyarnik ('Polyarnik') underwater robots are able to work in very cold and salted waters.
First trials
The Polayarnik snorts and refuses to dive smoothly, its upper part stubbornly outweighs, and the robot keeps diving like a duck. Alexander Shkriabin, a master's student at the Institute of Shipbuilding and Marine Arctic Technology, a branch of the Northern Arctic Federal University, again and again carefully takes it out of the water. On the shore, he and Daniil Shushkov, a graduate of that same university, are adding loads and finally achieve the balance.
These are the first tests of an underwater robot from the shore. The young engineers are launching the robots on the polar island of Vaygach. They haven’t made the Polyarnik to be ballasted before the trial, that is, its buoyancy was not adjusted. However, the problem was solved quickly, and the robot rushed to explore the bottom of Varnek Bay.
Polyarnik is a remotely operated underwater robot. Its body is made of aluminum pipes and sections, it has eight propellers, a high-resolution digital video camera, a manipulator and a lighting system. The Polyarnik needs a shore station to transmit power and control commands.
The researchers brought the equipment ashore in a large box, which they lowered into the boat with great care. As for the robot, Daniil carried it in arms like a baby.
The Polyarnik is launched on a long bright yellow wire, which unwinds quickly. The sun is too bright, and on the laptop screen, to which the robot transmits the image, it's easier to see the designers' reflecting red jackets than the image the robot is sending. In the next bay, Daniil will hide under a raincoat tent to make sure everything is seen clearly on the screen.
On the Vaygach shore, the researchers at first got upset the chosen beach did not suit the testing. They had hoped, if not for very deep waters, then at least for some deep place. However, even in shallow water, the Polyarnik worked perfectly.
- It turned out, however, we mostly were watching huts of some water worms, - Daniil laughed.
The students had two devices to test. The second robot, the Lemming, is smaller than the Polyarnik. It is made of durable plastic, equipped with six thrusters in different planes, and a camera.
- Why "Lemming"? I wanted something simple and easy to remember. And, remember, that funny myth about lemmings jumping into the water. Our vehicle is exactly for underwater use, Shushkov explained. - We wanted an animal associated with water. Lemming is. Therefore, it fits perfectly.
The Lemming is not just smaller, it is also lighter than the Polyarnik, and it is easier to lower it from a vessel side - this is exactly what the researchers did at the first stop the Professor Molchanov vessel made at the Kolguev Island. At first, they adjusted the Lemming's buoyancy in salt water in a tub on deck, because the robot had been configured for earlier fresh water tests. So, they launched it from the stern into the sea on a 30-meter power-supply cable.
The robot worked in the water for about an hour and a half. The strong current near the Kolguev, moving around the ship, carried the robot away from the vessel, and the researchers were unable to inspect its hull. They young men were very worried, but satisfied: the robot was able to withstand the cold salt water, was able to sink to the bottom and take pictures there.
Underwater robot competitions
Such developments can be used to inspect the underwater parts of ship hulls, to explore the bottom and collect samples, the scientists said. Another participant in the Floating University expedition, Alexander Gordeychik, has joked the Lemming would have been very useful for the Mikhail Somov scientific vessel, which had remained aground for two weeks in the waters of Franz Josef Land. The vessel's hull was examined by divers.
Normally, trials of small remotely operated uninhabited underwater vehicles designed by students are limited to shallow pools and fresh water. The developers have repeatedly participated in national competitions. Daniil has chosen to study at the Northern Arctic Federal University's branch in Severodvinsk right after he saw news about students competing in underwater robot design.
- This is one of the reasons I've picked it, — Daniil said. - In the second year, teachers invited me to join a club, a group of enthusiasts dealing with underwater vehicles, and that's how it all developed, and then I was going along with the others quite well. Now, here I am. I'm an unofficial captain of our team.
- Why unofficial?
- At competitions - yes, the Captain, but in the working process we are in a maximum democratic environment.
Alexander took up robotics in his first year. On board the [Professor] Molchanov, in addition to robot testing, he was diagnosing the ship's electric drive.
- While everyone was up there, in the fresh air, I was staying in the darkness, - Alexander laughed.
The Lemming and the Polyarnik have won national competitions: the Lemming has taken the first place, and the Polyarnik - the third. The engineers from Severodvinsk are proud of their achievements. The Far Eastern Federal University is the undisputed leader in development of remotely operated vehicles. Strong teams are also at the St. Petersburg State Maritime Technical University and at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University. Students in Astrakhan and Sevastopol are also engaged in underwater robotics.
- Thanks to us, people come to know about Severodvinsk, about people there that are engaged in similar devices and even who beat the capital's universities at competitions, - Alexander and Daniil noted.
What matters, the young men say, it's not the competitions themselves, but rather the exchange of ideas. For example, to one of the competitions, the team has brought a device that could jump out of the water. Next year, a few other participants tried similar projects.
Daniil and Alexander say at some point, competitions in pools became boring to them, and it occurred they must test diving in real reservoirs. At first, they launched a robot into the Volga River in Astrakhan, and later on they found a lake with clear water near Severodvinsk. Thus, the next step, or rather dive, into the cold seas was only logical.
How to upgrade robots
Shushkov and Shkriabin were generally satisfied with the tests: the robots were perfectly well diving in sea water, although, of course, the researchers had to give them showers after every dive to wash off the salt. The task was to have a robot dive 30 meters deep, which they met successfully by the Salm Island of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago. That was not the limit. The only limit was the cable length.
On sunny days, images, received from the devices, were clear even when taken at the depth of eight meters, and, if deeper, lighting was required. This is the aspect the young engineers will address. During the trials, they realized it best to use several light sources to make sure the lighting is diffused and uniform. The biggest problem, however, was that the equipment was rather bulky.
- We so much envied drone pilots, as what they needed is just to install a phone into a tiny remote control, and here it is, everything is working. We, first of all, will be working to make all the equipment smaller. One of ideas is to make a backpack, a backpack mount, so that to carry both the robot and all the necessary equipment, - Daniil said. - There have been glares on the laptop screen, and we also have some ideas about this: we want to add a glasses support, similar to virtual reality glasses, so that images are cordoned from external light and only the operator could see them.
Operating a robot is not so easy, by the way. The experts have allowed other expedition participants to try. They did manage to operate, whereas making any actions with a manipulator was already a difficult task. Moreover, the marine inhabitants, with whom the robots tried to "communicate," were truly brisk and nimble.
- We've enjoyed it most at Cape Zhelaniya. The bottom is the most diverse and beautiful, there's a small underwater forest that sways very beautifully in the waves. As for meeting animals, they were rather numerous when we were throwing the device from the ship's side and had it sink to the bottom, which was almost always perfectly flat, sandy, and with very-very many small crabs and anemones on it. From an engineer's point of view, those were funny strange things that hide when you touch them.
- Have you managed to hook anyone? - I asked.
- No. When you just try to grab them, they immediately hide into a hole - they shrink and hide tentacles. We have scared away all the sea anemones in the area," Daniil laughed.
Another aspect the young engineers want to improve is the stabilization system in robots. The work at sea has shown that automation is needed, as it could help in maintaining the depth, course, and in preventing the device from leaning to sides. Yet another idea they have is to create a robot that could dive and also drive on the bottom.
When the Arctic Floating University expedition was over, Daniil Shushkov won a student startup competition of the Innovation Promotion Foundation. His project - Universal hardware and software platform for uninhabited underwater vehicles - won a million rubles ($10,370). The scientist will develop three hardware modules to simplify assembling and upgrading of uninhabited underwater vehicles. He would be able to focus on the creative aspect without going into technical details.
Additionally, the scientists want to organize in Severodvinsk an underwater robotics center. Presently, Russia has only one center of the kind - it is located in Vladivostok.