Development of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle for the Emergency Response Mission of the ‘Sanchi’ Oil Tanker Collision and Explosion Accident

Abstract

Unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) as unmanned intelligent devices can replace humans to perform missions more efficiently and safely in dangerous areas. However, due to the complex navigation environment and special mission requirements, USVs face many challenges in emergency response missions for marine oil spill accidents. To solve these challenges in the emergency response mission of the ‘Sanchi’ oil tanker collision and explosion accident, we designed and deployed an USV to perform the missions of real-time scanning and water sampling in the shipwreck waters. Compared with the previous USVs, our USV owned the following characteristics: Firstly, the improved navigation control algorithms (path following and collision avoidance) can provide high navigation accuracy while ensuring navigation safety; Secondly, an improved launch and recovery system (LARS) enabled the USV to be quickly deployed and recovered in the mission area; Thirdly, a new sampling system was specially designed for the USV. Our USV completed the missions successfully, not only providing a lot of information for rescuers but also offering a scientific basis for follow-up work.

Research on global path planning of unmanned surface vehicles based on improved A* algorithm

“…As a new type of surface ships, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have the features of flexibility, good hiding capability and safety 1 . As one of the key technologies of USVs, in recent years, path planning has gradually become an important research focus.…”

Testing and Analysis of Selected Navigation Parameters of the GNSS/INS System for USV Path Localization during Inland Hydrographic Surveys

“…Their use is constantly expanding in many areas, and the development of autonomous systems technology enables more and more advanced functions and applications. USVs can be used for a variety of purposes such as archaeological research involving the discovery and examination of sunken ships or plane wrecks [ 13 , 14 ]; biological research enabling the observation of the behaviour of marine animals in their natural environment [ 15 ]; oceanographic research to record data on salinity, sea currents, temperature, topography of the sea and ocean floor [ 16 , 17 ]; monitoring the marine environment by measuring water quality, pollution and vegetation levels, as well as the state of marine ecosystems [ 18 , 19 ]; ocean resource exploration such as gas, mines and oil, as well as offshore pipeline/platform construction and maintenance [ 20 , 21 ]; search and rescue of missing people on waterbodies [ 22 , 23 ]; military applications for defence and security purposes such as monitoring coastal areas; protection of offshore installations; or reconnaissance in hard-to-reach places [ 24 , 25 ].…”

Multi-Modal Sonar Mapping of Offshore Cable Lines with an Autonomous Surface Vehicle

“…Autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) are being developed for various missions, such as hydrographic surveys [3][4][5], environmental monitoring [6,7], defense [8,9], and first responder support [10][11][12]. The installed exteroceptive and proprioceptive sensors allow an ASV to accurately obtain its position and attitude above the ocean surface.…”