Robots gather in Jinshitan to launch underwater ＂machine warfare＂

Morning News (Peninsula Morning News, 39-degree video reporter Su Lin) The crab-pincer-like manipulator prowled among the sand and rocks on the seabed, suddenly reaching out to the scallop in front of the "face", opening the "pincers" to clamp it firmly and put the scallop in the cabin … In 2022, the national underwater robot contest (Dalian) was in full swing on the Golden Coast of Jinshitan, from universities, scientific research institutions and top industries all over the country.

OurEDA No.2 Team of Dalian University of Technology, which belongs to Dalian Key Laboratory of Underwater Robots, brought an agile robot with full digital structure to participate in the competition. Liu Yu ‘ang, a junior majoring in microelectronics at Dalian University of Technology, told reporters that this fourth-generation medium-sized agile robot participated in the autonomous grasping competition in this competition. It is an improved version of the eight-axis robot, and its action is more sensitive. "We have changed the internal control structure, equipped with a high-power edge calculation module, especially for image detection. It used to be an analog camera, but now it is an all-digital structure. The newly designed autonomous crawling algorithm can complete the operation of artificial intelligence. "

Liu Yu ‘ang introduced that, considering that natural factors such as ocean currents are often encountered in the sea, the team introduced the function of self-balance in the process of improving the robot, which can keep balance in front, back, left and right, up and down directions. "This robot can also have a better orientation and depth. For example, suspend at a distance of one or two meters from the seabed, observe the situation of the seabed, and grab the sea treasures within a certain range. " In addition, the fourth generation medium-sized agile robot has also designed a number of data interfaces, and external accessories such as sonar and USBL can be added as needed.

"The stone seams and reef walls on the real seabed are our’ main battlefield’." Lin Peng, the leader of Haiying No.1 Team from Dalian Maritime University, told the reporter that the underwater robot Haiying No.1 is a robot independently developed and designed by them to catch seafood such as scallops, sea cucumbers and sea urchins. This robot is waterproof to 200 meters, driven by 6 propellers, with high degree of freedom and flexible control. It has a 30-fold mechanical arm, and can be grasped at 160 angles around the fan. The relatively small "hand shape" is specially designed by the team for real seabed crevices. In the competition of man-machine cooperation, "Haiying No.1" caught 25 sea treasures per unit time.

According to reports, another feature of "Haiying No.1" is that it uses shore-based battery power supply. Robots don’t need their own batteries, and at the same time, they can realize 24-hour nonstop operation all day. Besides underwater fishing, this robot can also be used in underwater search and rescue, underwater reconnaissance, underwater scientific research and archaeology and other fields.

Yong Li Chaotou Team from Zhejiang University came to Dalian for the first time to participate in the National Underwater robot contest. This is also the first time that the underwater robot independently developed by this team has gone out of the laboratory pool to "test the water" in the real sea area. Huang Puwen, a member of the team and a senior majoring in marine engineering and technology in Zhejiang University, said that everyone cherishes this rare exercise opportunity. The robot in this competition is a multifunctional modular ROV designed and developed by the team for more than one year. It adopts an open frame structure with eight propellers, and its small size and high-efficiency propellers make it have strong flexibility and endurance. This robot can achieve a certain degree of suspension in water, and the diving design index can reach 10 meters. "It has been tested in the swimming pool of the school laboratory before. Although the effect of grabbing is OK, it can’t simulate the wind and waves in the real sea area after all. This is the first time I have come to the real sea area. After discovering the problem, we can improve it more pertinently. "