• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-254
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• 2015

Buoys are widely used in marine areas because they can mark positions and simultaneously acquire and exchange underwater, surface, and airborne information. Recently, the need for controlling and optimizing a buoy's position and attitude has been raised to achieve successful communication in a heterogeneous collaborative network composed of an underwater robot, a surface robot, and an airborne robot. A buoy in the form of a marine robot would be ideal to address this issue, as it can serve as a moving node of the communication network. Therefore, a buoy-based autonomous surface robot-kit with the abilities of sonar-based avoidance, dynamic position control, and static attitude control was developed and is discussed in this paper. The test and evaluation results of this kit show the possibility of real-world applications and the need for additional studies.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.305-312
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• 2021

There is a gradual increase in the need for energy charging in marine environments because of energy limitations experienced by electric ships and marine robots. Buoys are considered potential energy charging systems, but there are several challenges, which include the need to maintain a fixed position and avoid hazards, dock with ships and robots in order to charge them, be robust to actions by birds, ships, and robots. To solve these problems, this study proposes a smart buoy robot that has multiple thrusters, multiple docking and charging parts, a bird spike, a radar reflector, a light, a camera, and an anchor, and its mechanism is developed. To verify the performance of the smart buoy robot, the position control under disturbance due to wave currents and functional tests such as docking, charging, lighting, and anchoring are performed. Experimental results show that the smart buoy robot can operate under disturbances and is functionally effective. Therefore, the smart buoy robot is suitable as an energy charging system and has potential in realistic applications.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.645-651
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• 2012

In this paper, we propose a new method for stabilizing the image captured from a camera mounted on a buoy robot. In this study, in order to solve the problem of cumulative errors and noise produced by a general gyro sensor measuring the orientation angle of the buoy robot, we propose new method for stabilizing the image. In this method, image processing techniques are combined with a newly designed target mounting mechanism that adapts to wave fluctuations. New target extraction and angle estimation techniques are introduced, along with the new mounting mechanism used for the camera and the target, which produce a stabilized image even if the buoy robot is on fluctuating waves.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2012

This paper introduces the mechanical design, fabrication, and control of a biomimetic fish robot whose driving motions resemble a real fish's flexibility and movement. This robot uses two motors create flexible movement like that of a fish. Several schemes, such as neutral buoyancy, fast underwater swimming, and direction changes, are introduced. The tail of the fish robot is made of a polymer material for flexible movement. The interior of the tail contains a joint and a wire. A sine wave command was applied to the tail to produce motion resembling a real fish swimming, and a buoy control device was installed. The up and down motion of the robot fish was controlled using this device.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.61-64
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• 2008

Seasonal distribution of the oceanic water intrusion was investigated using satellite SST (sea surface temperature) and chl-a (chlorophyll-a) images taken by the MODIS Aqua sensor. The warm water mass emanating periodically from the meandering Kuroshio Current brings the oceanic water intrusion, known as the 'Kyucho' phenomenon, into Kagoshima bay during the winter. Satellite SST images and buoy robot data show that this warm water intrusion has the characteristics of a semigeostrophic gravity current influenced by the Coriolis effect. However, it is difficult to find the oceanic water intrusion during the summer season considering that it is accompanied by thermal stratification, and SST shows almost the same temperature between the inner side of the bay and the ocean. In this research, the satellite chl-a images taken by MODIS Aqua were employed instead of SST images to reveal the oceanic water intrusion in each season. The enclosed bay has the tendency to undergo eutrophication caused by organic materials from land and differences in chl-a concentration of the bay water and the oceanic water. As a result, distribution of low concentration chl-a with oceanic water intrusion in summer season shows almost the same pattern in winter season. On the other hand, in spring season, both SST and chl-a images are available to differentiate the oceanic water intrusion. Therefore, applying the suitable satellite sensor images for each season is effective in the monitoring of oceanic water intrusion. Moreover, in this area, SST and chl-a distribution reveal not only the oceanic water intrusion into Kagoshima bay but also the intrusion at Fukiage seashore facing East China Sea.