UK Ocean Glider User Workshop

UK Ocean Glider User Workshop
SeaExplorer Presentation
ACSA
By Patrice PLA
Liverpool – UK, April 17th 2013
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ALCEN PRESENTATION
COMPANY:
Alcen: created in 1993
Headquarters: Paris - FRANCE
33 operational subsidiaries
FIELDS:
FIGURES:
Turnover 2012: 240 M€
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COMPANY:
Created in 1995
Headquarters: Aix-en-Provence – France
Expertise: underwater acoutics and robotics.
ACTIVITY:
• off-the-shelf products: GIB tracking systems, Unmanned Surface Vehicle, Gliders,
• on-demand R&D: hydrodynamics, hydraulics, advanced analog and digital electronics,
hyperbaric mechanics, signal processing, embedded and GUI software …
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ON DEMAND R&D PROJECTS
DEVELOPMENTS FOR THIRD PARTIES:
Autonomous vehicles (surface or underwater)
Ballast-based devices
Depth regulation
Lifting/sinking devices
Buoys
Acoustic aquizition
Communication relays (radio, iridium,…)
And many other underwater equipment
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ACSA PRODUCTS
UNDERWATER GPS POSITIONING SYSTEMS:
GIB-Lite
GIB-Plus
GIB-FT
SOFTWARE:
FLEETMANAGER,
AQUATIC Softwares
SURFACE & UNDERWATER ROBOTICS:
USV BASIL
UUV DETECTOR
UUV SPAN
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UUV SeaExplorer
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Extended experiences in glider design
UUV: SPAN
Deep glider (2 000m).
Self-landing with high accuracy (5m).
Exclusive Oil & Gas applications.
UUV: SeaExplorer
Oceanographic glider to persistently gather near
real-time data (physical, chemical, biological, acoustics,
radiological) in a very cost-effective manner.
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SeaExplorer GLIDER
SeaExplorer KEY FEATURES:
Long Range (thousands of kilometers) and High
Endurance (months) UUV.
Gigabytes collection of data along a “cut” of the
water column (up to 700m).
Glider supervision and piloting from shore using a
web-based interface and satellite communications.
APPLICATIONS:
Oceanography & Science
Marine Mammals Assessment
Pollution Detection & Water Quality Monitoring
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REMINDERS OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES:
Thrust provided by buoyancy variation:
• Vehicle heavy: It glides down following a slope,
• Vehicle buoyant: It glides up to the surface following a slope.
GPS FIX
RADIO/SAT COMM.
BALLAST
DEFLATION
BALLAST
INFLATION
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REMINDERS OF OPERATIONAL PHASES:
Launch
Communication
BALLAST
INFLATION
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Glide
Recovery
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PROGRAM HISTORY:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
End of 2007 :
• Start-up, benchmark and brainstorming
• Definition, functional specifications
2008 :
• Global shape definition and selection
2009 :
• Mockup
• Pool test
2010 :
• First Prototype
• First at sea trials
2011 :
• Demonstrators built
• Validation at sea
2012 :
• Commercial pre-launch on the market
2013 :
• Final Qualification
• Industrial Production
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2008: mockups, concepts
2009: First 1:1 mockup
2010: First Prototype
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3 years of intensive tests
INDOORS TESTS:
• Lab: Inflation/deflation cycles, moving mass fatigue
• Pressure chamber at Ifremer: Hull Cycling, withstanding of survival depth
• Pools at Ifremer: Hydrodynamics, surfacing, buoyancy and trim, heave, communications
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3 years of intensive tests
AT SEA TRIALS:
• Lake: Tests of navigation in fresh water and freezing environment (Switzerland)
• Coastal areas: Navigation in shallow waters, sharp turn radiuses, …
• Deep seas: Endurance, navigation in current, waypoints, communication…
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MAIN ADVANTAGES OF SEAEXPLORER:
The latest design taking into account scientists feedback on previous
generation’s gliders
• Wingless: critical to increase mission survivability. No break during launch & recovery,
surface collision, neither lost of control due to biofouling, seaweed, fishing nets or plastic
debris entanglement.
• Dedicated CPU for navigation (and one CPU for science)
• Ballast: 1 Liter variation (allows shallow water navigation)
• Auto-ballasting: self-adjusting buoyancy and trim (mission preparation cost reduced)
• Unique high efficiency pump for shallow and deep operation
• High ballasting dynamics (fast ressources)
• Autonomous dropweight: internal battery, pressure sensor and intelligence
• Soft rubber fins not to hurt operator
• No external actuators to avoid leak
The sole glider on the market to offer all the above assets in one !
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IN TERMS OF ROBUSTNESS:
On gliders of former generation:
• Vehicles get old rapidly
• Composite hulls become porous after cycling
• Fins my block (bio-fouling..)
• Lots of aborts
With SeaExplorer, robustness is far beyond:
• No wings means No break !
• No mobile parts means No leak !
• No opening/closing of vehicle after each mission: safer for the internal components
• Internal mobile parts guided by bearings (no friction, no wear of mechanisms)
• Simple on-stage pump not sensitive to vacuum. Only one pump for shallow and deep
operations
• No air bladder (simpler means more robust)
• Soft fins and fairings (shocks absorption)
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SPEED:
Low speed is a weakness of gliders:
• Difficulties to accurately navigate in currents
• Time variation of measured parameters (i.e.: is gradient in data, time dependant or location
dependant ?)
SeaExplorer is the fastest glider with 1
knot (horizontal speed) !
Optimal Seaexplorer
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
60
Time in water (days)
50
40
30
Usual glider
speed
20
10
0
0
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
1
1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Speed [m/s]
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70
Travelled distance (km)
2
Time in water [days]
• Going slow reduces the propulsive power…
but sensors and electronics keep consuming
energy.
• An optimum exists : 0.5m/s for standard
sensors (1W).
Traveled distance [km]
With SeaExplorer, speed can be optimized:
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SPEED:
Glide slope is different from vehicle pitch, since the vehicle has an angle of
attack:
• Gliders usually dive along a 25° glide slope with a 15° pitch.
Horizontal
Pitch
Glide
slope
Angle
of attack
“Absolute speed” or “horizontal speed” (horizontally projected):
• For a 25° glide slope, the difference between absolute and horizontal speed is 10%.
• For a 35° glide slope, the speed difference is 20% !
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ENDURANCE VS VOLUME OF COLLECTED DATA:
Gliders” endurance:
• Although one of gliders’ performance often relates to endurance, the important parameter
is the quantity of data acquired over distance (no need to stay long at sea with sensors
powered-off).
SeaExplorer’s faster speed:
• Allows to collect the same volume of data on a transect in a shorter period of time
compared to lower speed gliders (save money on human mobilization for piloting),
• Allows to collect more of data on a longer transect for the same duration.
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MANEUVRABILITY: (a requirement in shallow water)
Sharp turns:
• 20m turn radius due to innovative hydrodynamics with no
external actuators
• Allows precise coastal surveys
Maneuverablity: Slalom in coastal
area : <20m turn radius
(GIB Trajectography)
Large gliding range:
• 15 to 45° pitch adjustment allows flat to steep slopes (long
distance or high spatial resolution)
Fast resources:
Coastal:
Sharp turn to reach 50°
Heading setpoint
(GIB Trajectography)
• Only 1 to 2m depth overshoot
Efficient in very shallow as
well as in deep waters
Example of 5-80m Profiles:
1m overshoot of depth setpoints !
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SUPERVISION: (Comm server)
Basic interface between Shore and Vehicle establishing a call:
• Mission and sensor configuration files from server to vehicle
• Navigation and Sensor data from vehicle to server
• Real-time feedback from vehicle (GPS coordinates,..)
• Real-time commands to the vehicle (Go, Abort, Goto,..)
Additional modules provided or to be developed by the user:
• Web piloting (Ex: CNRS/DT EGO Web interface)
• Web data analysis/display (Ex:LOV OAO Web interface)
• Server-based Waypoint or Track following
• Fleet of gliders synchronization
• NetCDT Converter
• Google Earth server
• … No limit !
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MISSION FILES: (easy to understand)
#------------------------------------------------#
Seaplorer Mission File
#-------------------------------------------------
Settings:
# Mission
msn.id=12
msn.cycle.total=1
msn.cycle.surfacingRate=1
•
•
Changed only by experts or manufacturer
Vehicle center of gravity, …
[profiles]
p1=saw (PU-8; PD+8; ZT10; ZB15; BU+200; BD-200)
[path]
g1=wp(x629.633, y4307.434);p1;
g2=wp(x627.744, y4305.391);p1;
Mission:
•
Simple file defining:
− Yo profiles characteristics (pitch, depths and volume in ascent/descent)
− Waypoints to follow (Only one destination for server-based commands)
Payload settings file:
•
•
Can be very simple: setting of continuous sampling rate
To very complex: definition of sensors behaviors based on time, depths, ascent/descent….
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PERFORMANCES IN ROUGH WEATHER:
(Trial of December 2011)
•
•
•
•
•
•
45 knots winds
4m waves
1.5 knots currents
200m error after 100km of navigation
100% communication success
Night recovery (perfect geolocalization)
Why such performance ?
•
•
•
•
High speed for a glider (1 knot)
Low heave in surface due to vehicle attitude and
shape
Long antenna keeping above waves
Drift correction in currents:
BALLAST
• Embedded (may INFLATION
be issues in non-steady currents)
• Handled by Comm Server Module (preferred)
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GLIDERS COMPARISON:
SeaExplorer
Seaglider
Spray
Slocum
56,5 cm
100cm
110cm
120cm
Volume change
1.0 L
0.84 L
0.9 L
0.45 L
Nominal Speed
> 0.5 m/s
0.25 m/s
0.25 to 0.35 m/sec
0.3 to 0.4 m/sec
L=290cm Diam=24cm
L=330cm
Diam=30cm
L=200cm Diam=20cm
L=215cm
Diam=21cm
Mass=59 kg
Mass=52 kg
Mass=51 kg
Mass=52 kg
Ballast Efficiency
60 (25)% efficient
@ 700 (100) dbar
40 (8)% efficient
@ 1000 (100) dbar
50 (20)% efficient
@ 1000 (100) dbar
50% efficient
@ 200 dbar
Payload capacity
8 Kg
(5 Kg dry + 3 Kg wet)
4 Kg
3.5 Kg
3 to 4 Kg
Puck ports
4
-
-
4
Operating
700m
1000m
200-1500m
200m or 1000m
Batteries
8.6MJ, Rechargeable
10MJ, Primary
Lithium
13MJ, Primary lithium
Free
> $2 500
> $3 850
16 hours
3 weeks factory…
3 weeks factory
Wingspan
Dimensions
Refueling cost
(incl. shipping)
Refueling
immobilization
8MJ, Primary
alkaline
Or Lithium
> $2 150 (Alkaline)
> $11 150 (Lithium)
1 week DIY
3 weeks factory
COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE Data from MTS publication by Rudnick, Davis, Eriksen,Fratantoni, Perry, 2004
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MAIN ADVANTAGES:
The sole glider originally designed for scientists !
Payload:
• Dedicated CPU for sensors
• Easy mounting of new sensors
• Opensource firmware (Linux/C++)
• User can implement custom functionalities. No need to send the glider back to the
manufacturer to change sensors (it is not a black box design)
• Easy deconnection of Payload sections
• One plastic rod to remove
• One connector between the navigation and payload sides
• Nose sections equiped with different sensors can be quickly interchanged !
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PAYLOADS:
Very large payload (wet & dry):
• > 8 Kg / 9 Liters - 5Kg in dry section & 3kg in wet nose cone
Interchangeable:
• 1 plastic rod to remove to disconnect from vehicle
• 1 connector inside
Wet section:
3kg available for sensors.
Modular:
• 2 sections: wet and dry
BALLAST
• 4 “Puck” ports (top,
bottom, port and starbord)
INFLATION
• Open-source firmware: less than 3 days to
interface a new sensor
Connection to vehicle
• 1 Dedicated CPU.
Dry section:
5kg available inside for sensors electronics
4 Pucks ports (Wetlabs Ecopuck, Altimeter, Minifluo…)
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CTD, O2 (Aanderaa), Fluorescence (Wetlabs),
Acoustics (ACSA)
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ACCURATE DATA ACQUISITION:
SeaExplorer with SBE pumped CTD integrated nosecone:
Outstanding GPCTD + O2 performance in an optimized package
• Fast sampling (1s) (/4s on other vehicles)
• No hysterisis between ascent/descent
Wetlabs Eco Triplet Puck: Three readings (CDOM, Chlorophyl and Backscatter) within
a single miniature sensor
On each plot: 2 Yos (4 profiles) superimposed: no hysteresis!
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EXTRAPOLATION FROM SENSORS:
High accuracy Sound velocity profiles
Salinity from CTD
Water Density
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DATA FILES:
Navigation:
• Format: Zipped CSV (Compressed, and easy to open with any software)
• Files split by yos
• Contents: Time, Heading, Pitch, Roll, Depth, T°C, Voltage, Altitude,…
Payload:
• Format: Zipped CSV (Compressed, and easy to open with any software)
• Two files generated (full and downsampled)
• Split by yos
• Contents: sensors readings
Other formats:
• Conversion by Comm-Server modules
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COOPERATION WITH SENSORS MANUFACTURERS:
: Co-development on GPCTD and Optode
sensors integration optimization
: Dedicated Pucks, collaboration on exclusive
CDOM, Backscatter and Fluorescence sensors
integration
GPCTD (Seabird)
OTHER INTEGRATIONS:
–
–
–
–
Integration of Aanderaa’s CTDs and Optodes
Altimeter
In-house Acoustic recorder/ Signal processing
Exclusive MiniFluo Hydrocarbon sensor (CNRS patent)
SOONER:
– Satlantic SUNA
Altimeter
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MiniFluo
CTD, O2 (Aanderaa)
and acoustics
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MISSION COSTS:
Piloting is time consuming (night and day on-call), workforce and money.
SeaExplorer running twice as fast as other vehicles… cuts the supervision cost
by two for the same distance travelled !
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RECONDITIONNING AND MAINTENANCE:
Main advantages of SeaExplorer in terms of reconditioning:
Rechargeable Batteries means
No vehicle opening (prevent leak)
Cost Free reconditioning
No reballasting !
Recharge with AC/DC converter (at sea with no return to land !!!)
Reconditioning by a single person with low expertise
No mobile parts means
No leak/breakage
Flexible rubber fins and fairings means
Low risk of breaking/lost
Reconditioning of
rechargeable batteries
Sole parts to be maintained:
• Anodes to be checked under fairings (6 screws)
• Fairings and/or fins in case of strong shocks
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Reconditioning of primary
cells
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RECONDITIONNING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS:
Cost between two missions: Rechargeable batteries vs Primary cells
Rechargeable (SeaExplorer)
Phase
Parts cost ($)
Manhours (h)
Duration (h)
NOT APPLICABLE
Vehicle disassembly
Primary cells
Parts cost ($)
Manhours (h)
Duration (h)
$0
8h
Half day by two people
4h
Download of data files
0
0.5h
Plug cable, start FTP,
wait for the end of
downdload
0.5h
$0
1h
Removal of Flash card,
download, reinstallation
of flashcard
1h
Replacement of battery packs
$0.5
Simple recharge
on AC (0.13$/kWh)
0.1h
Plug/unplug charger
16h
Recharge
duration
$1 500 (Alcaline)
to
$10 000 (Lithium)
4h
Remove old packs,
change by new ones
4h
Vehicle reassembly
NOT APPLICABLE
$100
Orings,weights …
8h
Half day by two people
4h
Vehicle check after reassembly
(sealings and each function vs
cabling)
NOT APPLICABLE
$0
8h
One day
8h
Reballasting (ie tank+vehicle
reopening) and quick test in
water
NOT APPLICABLE
$50
8h
Ballasting in watertank,
eventually reopening of
the vehicle to adjust
weights
8h
Shipping of the glider to the
manufacturer’s factory (back &
forth)
NOT APPLICABLE
> $1 000 (to be
calculated upon
end-user location)
2h
>2 weeks
(including
customs)
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CHANGE OF PAYLOAD COSTS:
Cost between two missions requiring different sensors:
Interchangeable payload vs “Black box payload”
Interchangeable nose cone (SeaExplorer)
Phase
Parts cost ($)
Duration (h)
NOT APPLICABLE
Shipping to manufacturer
Vehicle disassembly
Manhours (h)
0
0.3h
Separation of nose
cone (1 plastic rod
to remove) and unplug
0.3h
NOT APPLICABLE
Off-the-shelf twin nose cone
Integration of Sensors
Black box payload
Parts cost ($)
Manhours (h)
Duration (h)
> $1 000
2h
> 1 week
(including
customs)
$0
8h
Half day by two people
4h
TBD
8h
Mechanical mounting,
cabling
8h
Vehicle reassembly
0
0.3h
Attachement of nose
cone:(1 plastic rod) and
plugging connectors
0.3h
$0
8h
Half day by two people
4h
Lab check
0
1h
1h
0
1h
1h
Reballasting
0
0.3h
Fast verification
(nose cone prebalanced)
0.3h
0
4h
Full reballasting
4h
>$1000
2h
> 1 week
(including
customs)
Shipping back to user
NOT APPLICABLE
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COMPARATIVE TABLE OF COSTS:
Cost between two missions: Rechargeable batteries vs Primary cells
Total
Cost ($) excluding
hereunder manhours cost
Manhours (h)
Immobilization
Rechargeable (SeaExplorer)
Primary cells
0
$ 2 650 to $ 11 150
0,6 hour
39 hours
16,5 hours
3 weeks
Cost between two missions: Interchangeable payload vs Black box payload
Total
Interchangeable (SeaExplorer)
Black box payload
0
> $ 2 000
Manhours (h)
2 hours
33 hours
Immobilization
2 hours
2,5 weeks
Cost ($) excluding
hereunder manhours cost
Total cost of ownership has to be calculated over a 4 to 5 years period taking into account
batteries replacements and payload changes…
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CONTACT
THANK YOU !
Patrice PLA
Sales & Marketing Manager
Tel.: +33 4 42 58 59 20
E-mail: [email protected]
www.acsa-alcen.com
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