Cookies Policy
The website need some cookies and similar means to function. If you permit us, we will use those means to collect data on your visits for aggregated statistics to improve our service. Find out More
Accept Reject
  • Menu
Publications

Publications by CRAS

2016

Characterization of Measurement Errors in a LBL Positioning System

Authors
Almeida, R; Melo, J; Cruz, N;

Publication
OCEANS 2016 - SHANGHAI

Abstract
There are several sources of error affecting the accuracy of underwater ranging using acoustic signals. These errors have a direct impact in the performance of Long Baseline (LBL) navigation system. This paper presents the results of experiments designed to characterize the most significant sources of errors in acoustic ranging. For the experiments, we use a set of acoustic devices and compare distances given by GPS differences with and acoustic ranges. We describe the experimental procedure and we process the results to provide a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the errors.

2016

Coordination of Marine Robots Under Tracking Errors and Communication Constraints

Authors
Ferreira, BM; Matos, AC; Cruz, NA; Moreira, AP;

Publication
IEEE JOURNAL OF OCEANIC ENGINEERING

Abstract
This paper presents the development and the experimental validation of a centralized coordination control scheme that is robust to communication constraints and individual tracking errors for a team of possibly heterogeneous marine vehicles. By assuming the existence of a lower level target tracking control layer, a centralized potential-field-based coordination scheme is proposed to drive a team of robots along a path that does not necessarily need to be defined a priori. Furthermore, the formation is allowed to hold its position (the vehicles hold their positions with regard to a static virtual leader), which is particularly appreciated in several marine applications. As it is important to guarantee stability and mission completion in adverse environments with limited communications, the centralized control scheme for coordination is constructed in a way that makes it robust to tracking errors and intermittent communication links. The study and developments presented in this paper are complemented with field experiments in which vehicles have coordinated their operation to keep in formation over a dynamic path and static points. This work considers two types of communication technologies. Firstly, standard high rate radio communications are used to drive the formation and, secondly, acoustic communications are employed to assess the performance and the robustness of the proposed approach to degraded and highly variable conditions. Index Terms-Communication

2016

Man Portable Acoustic Navigation Buoys

Authors
Almeida, R; Cruz, N; Matos, A;

Publication
OCEANS 2016 - SHANGHAI

Abstract
This paper presents a new generation of man portable acoustic navigation buoys. The aim of these buoys is to facilitate the deployment of an underwater acoustic positioning system for the operation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. Each buoy includes only the vital modules required for the most typical schemes of underwater acoustic navigation, packed in a small but dynamically stable platform for one day long operations in coastal waters. We will present an overview of the systems hardware and electronics, and also the key features of the deployment and operation of the beacons.

2016

The Impact of Convergence Cameras in a Stereoscopic System for AUVs

Authors
Aguiar, J; Pinto, AM; Cruz, NA; Matos, AC;

Publication
IMAGE ANALYSIS AND RECOGNITION (ICIAR 2016)

Abstract
Underwater imaging is being increasingly helpful for the autonomous robots to reconstruct and map the marine environments which is fundamental for searching for pipelines or wreckages in depth waters. In this context, the accuracy of the information obtained from the environment is of extremely importance. This work presents a study about the accuracy of a reconfigurable stereo vision system while determining a dense disparity estimation for underwater imaging. The idea is to explore the advantage of this kind of system for underwater autonomous vehicles (AUV) since varying parameters like the baseline and the pose of the cameras make possible to extract accurate 3D information at different distances between the AUV and the scene. Therefore, the impact of these parameters is analyzed using a metric error of the point cloud acquired by a stereoscopic system. Furthermore, results obtained directly from an underwater environment proved that a reconfigurable stereo system can have some advantages for autonomous vehicles since, in some trials, the error was reduced by 0.05m for distances between 1.125 and 2.675 m.

2016

A remote monitoring and control system for ecosystem replication experiments

Authors
Ventura, JP; Cruz, NA; Lima, FP;

Publication
OCEANS 2016 MTS/IEEE MONTEREY

Abstract
In this article we describe the implementation of remote monitoring and control for multiple and independent experiments, namely, ecosystem replication experiments. First by presenting the main concepts behind the system architecture, and ultimately its design, and secondly by discussing its implementation. The system makes use of IEEE 802.15.4 Standard for Wireless Communications, a BeagleBone Black as the central coordinator for the experiments, and Arduino Mega as the monitoring and control device for each experiment. Data is stored on a PostgreSQL RDBMS, and the user interfaces with the system through a Website.

2016

Remote supervision system for aquaculture platforms

Authors
Sousa e Silva, MSE; Cruz, NA; Lima, FP;

Publication
OCEANS 2016 MTS/IEEE MONTEREY

Abstract
Aquaculture processes usually take place in remote and harsh environments, and are highly dependent on uncontrollable and unpredictable variables, therefore its monitoring and supervision can be a key factor in this activity. Taking that into account, this paper proposes a solution for a Remote Supervision System for Aquaculture Platforms, that contemplates a modular, reconfigurable and expandable sensor network based on the I2C protocol, which is composed by two different types of sensor nodes. The main sensor node, which serves as the sensor network coordinator and as a gateway, and the tiny sensor nodes, that are responsible for simple data collection tasks.

  • 83
  • 173