Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)

In this paper, an effective mechanism using a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) carried by a parent boat (PB) is proposed to complete search or scientific tasks over multiple target water areas within a shorter time. Specifically, multiple USVs can be launched from the PB to conduct such operations simultaneously, and each USV can return to the PB for battery recharging or swapping and data collection in order to continue missions in a more extended range. The PB itself follows a planned route with a flexible schedule taking into consideration locational constraints or collision avoidance in a real-world situation. Assuming that each target has a value, this research investigates how to route these USVs, including their schedules to rendezvous with the PB, so that they can maximize the total collected target values from the operation in a limited amount of time. We use a multi-layered time-space network to describe the USVs and PB movement over time and give an integer programming (IP) formulation for the coverage path planning problem. To further shorten the computational time, we propose the Iterative Clustering Heuristic (ICH) to firstly cluster the workspace, calculate the path for each USV to visit targets and meet with the PB for range extension. To evaluate the performance of the proposed IP model and ICH, test cases are designed based on a real-world scenario, as well as families of simulated grid-like networks. Based on the computational analysis of different USV area sizes, targets covered, and operation time-bound increments, the proposed heuristic ICH can solve larger sized cases faster than the IP commercial solver with higher quality results.

In the recent past, wireless controlled vehicles had been extensively used in a lot of areas like unmanned rescue missions, military usage for unmanned combat and many others. But the major disadvantage of these wireless unmanned robots is that they typically make use of RF circuits for maneuver and control. Essentially RF circuits suffer from a lot of drawbacks such as limited frequency range i.e. working range, and limited control. To overcome such problems associated with RF control, few papers have been written, describing methods which make use of the GSM network and the DTMF function of a cell phone to control the robotic vehicle. This paper although uses the same principle technology of the GSM network and the DTMF based mobile phone but it essentially shows the construction of a circuit using only 4 bits of wireless data communication to control the motion of the vehicle without the use of any microcontroller. This improvement results in considerable reduction of circuit complexity and of manpower for software development as the circuit built using this system does not require any form of programming. Moreover, practical results obtained showed an appreciable degree of accuracy of the system and friendliness without the use of any microcontroller.

Accessing the world's oceans is essential for monitoring and sustainable management of the maritime domain. Difficulty in reaching remote locations has resulted in sparse coverage, undermining our capacity to deter illegal activities and gather data for physical and biological processes. Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) have existed for over two decades and offer the potential to overcome difficulties associated with monitoring and surveillance in remote regions. However, they are not yet an integral component of maritime infrastructure. We analyse 15 years of non-autonomous and semi-autonomous USV-related literature to determine the factors limiting technological diffusion into everyday maritime operations. We systematically categorised over 1,000 USV-related publications to determine how government, academia and industry sectors use USVs and what drives their uptake. We found a striking overlap between these sectors for 11 applications and nine drivers. Low cost was a consistent and central driver for USV uptake across the three sectors. Product ‘compatibility' and lack of ‘complexity' appear to be major factors limiting USV technological diffusion amongst early adopters. We found that the majority (21 of 27) of commercially available USVs lacked the complexity required for multiple applications in beyond the horizon operations. We argue that the best value for money to advance USV uptake is for designs that offer cross-disciplinary applications and the ability to operate in an unsheltered open ocean without an escort or mothership. The benefits from this technological advancement can excel under existing collaborative governance frameworks and are most significant for remote and developing maritime nations.

This new prototype is named "Firefighter Smart Platform V.1" This new prototype attempts to be the first UAV (drone) that can suffocate and control fire in buildings or forest anywhere and anytime. This new design can safe lives in skyscrapers or desolate places such as forests, industrial parks, or any place that we can find problems of easy and fast access.