• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.66-73
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• 2012

A pressure compensated chamber of a pilot mining robot isolates and protects an electrical-electronic system from the ambient highly pressured water. Since the inner pressure of the chamber is compensated with outer water pressure using hydraulic oil and pressure compensator, there exists a pressure difference, less than 1 bar, between outer and inner surface. The structural safety of the chamber is obtained relatively easier than the canister type which inner pressure is kept as the atmospheric pressure. However, due to the adoption of box shape for space efficiency and usage of the transparent engineering plastic viewport for checking inner circumstance, the viewport can be largely deformed. This large deformation can cause an additional tensile force, called the prying force, to the bolt-flange connection parts of the viewport. In this paper, we suggest the structural design equation considering the prying action for designing the structure of a box-shape pressure compensated chamber.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.128-134
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• 2015

Axial vibration analysis is very important for a deep-seabed mining system. In this study, an axial vibration analysis was carried out to estimate the natural frequencies and tensions of the umbilical cable using experimental data obtained from the first pre-pilot mining test. The axial vibrations of the umbilical cable with a pilot mining robot at the bottom end were analytically determined. The range of the added mass coefficients of the pilot mining robot is estimated by comparing the experimental and analytical data. The natural frequencies and maximum tensions are calculated using four estimated added mass coefficients.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2013

This paper deals with the design method for a small waterproof 4-axis robot arm. An extensive analysis was performed on the torque applied to the robot joint as a result of the payload, as well as the design of the joint actuator capacity. In addition, a study was undertaken on the design of a waterproof joint actuator that works at depths greater than 10 m and the wiring design for a small waterproof connector to avoid obstructing the robot motion. Finally, a finite element method simulation was carried out to analyze the strength of the designed robot arm link, and its stability was verified through a simulation test.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.80-86
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• 2013

KIOST developed a deep-sea mining robot called "MineRo" to collect manganese nodules in 2007. MineRo operates on flat ground. SMS (seafloor massive sulfide) deposits are shaped like undulating mountains. This paper deals with a numerical analysis model of a mining robot for SMS deposits. The mining robot consists of a tracked vehicle, chassis structure with a turntable, boom arm with 2 articulations, excavation tool, discharging unit, hydro-electric system, and sensing-and-monitoring system. In order to compare and analyze the dynamic responses of the driving mechanism, various tracked vehicles are modeled using commercial software. Straight driving simulations are conducted under undulating ground conditions. A conceptual design of a mining robot with four track systems for SMS deposits is modeled on the basis of these results.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.47-54
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• 2012

In this study, numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the current loads acting on the multi-legged underwater robot "Crabster" with a variety of incident angles using the ANSYS-CFX package. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations were solved to simulate the fluid flow around Crabster to calculate the forces and moments induced by incoming currents with various angles. First, to assess the posture stability of the body, the forces and moments were calculated with various incident angles when the current acted in the vertical and horizontal directions. Next, two forms of legs (box and foil types) were evaluated to determine the hydrodynamic force variation. Finally, the current forces and moments acting on the Crabster body with the legs attached were estimated.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.65-72
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• 2013

This paper describes a finite element analysis (FEA) of the body frame of a subsea robot, Crabster200 (CR200). CR200 has six legs for mobility instead of screw type propellers, which distinguishes it from previous underwater robots such as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Another distinguishing characteristic is the body frame, which is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). This body frame is designed as a rib cage structure in order to disperse the applied external loads and reduce the weight. The frame should be strong enough to support many devices for exploration and operation underwater. For a reasonable FEA, we carried out specimen tests. Using the obtained material properties, we performed a modal analysis and FEA for CR200 with a ready posture. Finally, this paper presents the FEA results for the CFRP body frame and the compares the characteristics of CFRP with conventional material, aluminum.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.7 no.7
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• pp.559-566
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• 2001

The sway control problem of the pendulum motion of a container hanging on the trolly, which transports containers from a container ship to trucks, is considered in the paper. In the container crane control problem, suppressing the residual swing motion of the container at the end of acceleration, deceleration or the case of that the unexpected disturbance input exists is main issue. For this problem, in general, the trolley motion control strategy is introduced and applied. In this paper, we introduce and synthesize a new type of swing motion control system in which a small auxiliary mass is installed on the spreader. The actuator reacting against the auxiliary mall applies inertial control forces to the container to reduce the swing motion in the desired manner. In this paper, we apply the $H^{\infty}$ based gain-scheduling control technique to the anti-swing motion control system design problem of the controlled plant. In this control system, the controller dynamics are adjusted in real-time according to time-varying plant parameters. And the simulation result shows that the proposed control strategy is shown to be useful for the case of time-varying system and, robust to disturbances such as winds and initial sway motion.

• Smart Media Journal
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• v.11 no.9
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• pp.64-74
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• 2022

A number of studies related to underwater robots are being conducted to utilize marine resources. However, unlike ordinary drones, underwater robots have a problem that it is not easy to locate because the medium is water, not air. The monitoring and positioning program of underwater robots, an existing study for identifying underwater locations, has difficulty in locating and monitoring in small spaces because it aims to be utilized in large spaces. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a three-dimensional positioning program for continuous monitoring and command delivery in small spaces. The proposed program consists of a multi-dimensional positioning monitoring function and a ability to control the path of travel through a three-dimensional screen so that the depth of the underwater robot can be identified. Through the performance evaluation, a robot underwater could be monitored and verified from various angles with a 3D screen, and an error within the assumed range was verified as the difference between the set path and the actual position is within 6.44 m on average.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.363-368
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• 2021

Ship engine rooms have improved automation systems owing to the advancement of technology. However, there are many variables at sea, such as wind, waves, vibration, and equipment aging, which cause loosening, cutting, and leakage, which are not measured by automated systems. There are cases in which only one engineer is available for patrolling. This entails many risk factors in the engine room, where rotating equipment is operating at high temperature and high pressure. When the engineer patrols, he uses his five senses, with particular high dependence on vision. We hereby present a preliminary study to implement an engine-room patrol robot that detects and informs the machine room while a robot patrols the engine room. Images of ship engine-room equipment were classified using a convolutional neural network (CNN). After constructing the image dataset of the ship engine room, the network was trained with a pre-trained CNN model. Classification performance of the trained model showed high reproducibility. Images were visualized with a class activation map. Although it cannot be generalized because the amount of data was limited, it is thought that if the data of each ship were learned through transfer learning, a model suitable for the characteristics of each ship could be constructed with little time and cost expenditure.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.184-207
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• 2020

This study aimed to determine candidate areas for tidal current-pumped storage hybrid power plants using GIS-based site selection analysis. The study area is the southwestern sea surrounding Jindo Island in South Korea. Factors to be considered for the site selection analysis were derived considering the design and installation characteristics of the hybrid power plant. Numerical simulation to predict tidal speed was performed using the MOHID(Modelo HIDrodin?mico) and the results were converted into spatial data. Subsequently, a GIS-based overlay analysis method proposed in this study was applied to derive the installation candidate area. A total of 10 regions were identified as candidate sites. Among them, it was determined that the power generator could be installed in relatively wide sea areas in Jindo, Seongnamdo, and Hajodo.