IIT researchers at Mandi and Palakkad unveils marine robot to mitigate risk with underwater operations

Researchers at IIT Mandi and Palakkad have designed a state-of-the-art marine robot aimed to reduce the risk associated with underwater operations including reducing maintenance cost and address real-time challenges. 
According to the researchers, the cutting-edge robot is meticulously crafted for underwater monitoring and inspections, offering heightened efficiency, minimized risks, and potential cost savings.
The Naval Research Board (NRB) of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) have partially funded the project, while the breakthrough research has been published in the Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems and Ocean Engineering.
"As understood from history, the ocean interior has been mainly observed using instruments lowered from research ships," Jagadeesh Kadiyam, Assistant Professor, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at IIT Mandi, told PTI.
There is a need for advanced underwater exploration as 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by water, with the oceans holding 96.5% of all water.
The prototype development and performance assessments of the underwater vehicle demonstrate its ability to manage external disturbances such as water currents and changing payloads. 
These state-of-the-art marine robots can be useful in a range of applications, including inspection of hydroelectric infrastructure, environmental monitoring of water bodies, and search and rescue missions.

Jagadeesh Kadiyam, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at IIT Mandi, noted the historical reliance on research ships for ocean observation. 
However, the limitations of ship cruises in terms of duration hinder detailed monitoring of oceans.
Kadiyam, a co-author of the stydy, said typical ship cruises lasted a month or two, therefore making the detailed monitoring of oceans limited.
"It is often said that ocean variables do not wait for the ship to come for measurements," he pointed out.
"This problem of under-sampling and the relatively high cost of these observation platforms demands technologies that could provide longer observation times at a lower cost through spatial and temporal density," Kadiyam said.
"Similarly, infrastructure safety is a global concern with ageing dams and increased environmental stresses necessitating more advanced inspection methods. Traditional inspection approaches often involve human divers, which can be risky, time-consuming and expensive," he said.
Kadiyam explained that the recent open-water reservoir field trials signify a considerable advancement in the maturity of underwater vehicle technology.
The number of submerged structures is steadily increasing due to the advent of new technologies and the rapid expansion of existing infrastructure for defence or civil purposes. Therefore, it is an essential routine to check, maintain, and repair these structures.
Earlier, the jobs underwater were done by human divers, which posed a long-term health effect but now underwater vehicles can be deployed to reduce human intervention.
Santhakumar Mohan, Professor at IIT-Palakkad highlighted the challenges faced by researchers in developing marine robots.
"From research point of view, the marine robotics community faces numerous challenges due to the uncertain aquatic environment and disturbances. Communication underwater is still tricky as it predominantly depends on acoustics since the radio waves are hard to pass through the water medium. As this is a niche area, the component cost of the vehicles is also high," Mohan said.
"Other issues include waterproofing, choice of non-corrosive materials, and high-pressure operations underwater. Therefore, marine robotic technology will take time to get matured, unlike the vehicles used on land and in the air. Our research focuses on developing systems and designing advanced controls to increase the robot's accuracy, precision, efficiency, and performance," he added.

(with agency inputs)