Better late than never

There were two big tests in the last couple of months that kept us too busy to write blog posts.

In November we went out to Gowanus Canal, one of the dirtiest pieces of water you can imagine, right in the heart of Brooklyn (that part you might believe). It was a two day trip, with two objectives. First, we wanted to meet with and integrate the sensor of a New York company called WaterCanary. They are building a pretty cool sensor that will eventually allow real-time, low-cost measurement of a low of stuff about water. Then we wanted to test in the canal to show that water that you can smell from about a kilometer away is actually pretty dirty.

We turned up early (6am!) to do the sensor integration at the WaterCanary offices and hit every possible snag one could hit. Nothing worked. Nothing. An integration that should have taken an hour took six hours. Finally, it worked and we jumped in the cars to head down to the canal (just get to Brooklyn and follow your nose). As we were setting up, a nearby worker warned us it wasn't really safe to be near the water. After that, we let Abhinav put the boat in and out of the water. Naturally, as soon as we were ready to go, it started raining. Hiding under plastic and with the non-waterproof sensor connections wrapped in a shopping bag, we were all set to go when the rain stopped. For just long enough for us to take down the umbrellas and the plastic sheet from over the laptop. Then it started raining again. As long and frustrating as the day had been, we decided to put the boat in anyway. Within 2 minutes the cable connecting the WaterCanary sensor to the boat had got caught in the propeller and had been shredded. It didn't matter anyway, because it was dark and we couldn't see any more.

An image from the boat in the canal, notice the big black clouds in the background.

It has often been said that alcohol fixes all problems. So we went out for a couple of beers, partly to soothe our frustration, but mostly because of the anticipated performance gain. We were trying sufficiently hard that we came last in a pub trivia competition. But it worked.

The next day the rain had gone and we went out again early. This time everything worked perfectly. We collected good data from the electrical conductivity sensor and WaterCanary got good data from their sensor. Here is a plot of the data overlaid on a google maps image:



Our next big test was a high pressure event hosted by the Port of Pittsburgh. The aim was to go down to the point in the center of Pittsburgh and show how we can measure water properties for an audience that included members of the Port of Pittsburgh board, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard. Since we had just returned from Gowanas on Tuesday, no one had actually tested in the area of the test until Wednesday and the demo was on Friday. We went down early, set up without incident and decided to tie a safety line on the boat just in case. Lucky we did. It turns out the the current where two major rivers meet to make one even bigger river is too much for our little boats. Although they valiantly struggle across current, when trying to go against current they simply go backwards. Its hard not to feel sorry for them. (This isn't a fundamental problem with the technology, we just need to put on a bigger motor.) So with two days to go before a big demo, we had some pieces of foam that didn't do much more than float (quite fast and noisily) towards the Gulf of Mexico.

This time alcohol was ruled out as a possible solution. Instead we scouted up and down the river looked for a nearby place where the currents were lower. Fortunately, we found such a place not far away where a big concrete area had been built to allow boats to tie up, but more importantly served to create an area without a strong current. If we were able to keep the boats in that area, we could keep them from ending up in Mexico.

The day of the demo started cold, but otherwise absolutely perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and no wind at all. Ducks swam nearby and were oddly unconcerned when we drove a boat through them. Everything went great and the kayaker we got to collect boats on the way to Mexico only had to catch two of the five boats. Photos below:








Coming soon: A post about water sampling tests with below freezing temperature water (spoiler alert: Paul was warm in his office, others were not so lucky.)

Upcoming demos

The coming few weeks are going to be very exciting for the crw team. We have two big demos coming up. The first one being the Gowanus Canal test on the 29th of November and second being the Port of Pittsburgh demo on the 2nd of December. We will be using our GenX boats with some new state of the art sensors for both of these tests. Our engineers have made some improvements to the communication infrastructure which will enable the boats to travel much farther.

Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, New York

To those who are not familiar with the infamous Gowanus Canal, here's some history behind it. The canal is located in Brooklyn, New York and was once a major transportation route between Brooklyn and New York City. Due to the discharges from the factories and sewer overflows, the Gowanus Canal has become one of the most contaminated bodies of water in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed the Gowanus Canal in the National Priorities List (NPL) to investigate the sources of contamination. We are planning to deploy our boats to map out the contamination in the canal. In this test, our boats will be equipped with a custom made water sampling system. The boats will also have a specialized water quality sensor that is being developed by our collaborators at Water Canary. We recently bought a few custom made sonars from New Zealand to measure the depth of water bodies. Our engineers are currently working on getting the sonar integrated into our system in time for these tests.

The second test is going to be a big one. We are having a demo for the Port of Pittsburgh to demonstrate the capability of our boats. In this demo we will also be demonstrating a new feature where our boats will detect buoys in the river and verify whether they are at the right location. Buoys are placed in shallow areas of the river to warn barges and cruise boats, however they drift and get displaced. Our boats can potentially be used to verify the buoy's locations and warn the authorities incase their positions need to be readjusted. Yesterday, a couple of us went scouting to find a good place to launch the boats on the day of the demo.

We thought we found the perfect place, until we went closer and found the river bank full of rocks. Although our Chief Deployment Officer wont be present for these tests, our brave and talented shore team will surely manage. On second thought, maybe we will look for a better launch site.

Stay tuned for the first river test sometime this week!

Generation X

Announcing the latest and greatest development in the design and manufacture of autonomous airboats; the new Generation X Autonomous Airboat. Faster, more durable, more maneuverable and more reliable than ever before, it is truly a marvel of modern robotics. 

The all new GenX Airboat

Thanks to the hard work of our engineers back in Pittsburgh, we have successfully redesigned the airboats to address many of the shortcomings we noticed while testing in the Philippines. In just one week after the final design was finished and a prototype was tested, five boats were fabricated and now eagerly await testing.

Boat Rainbow

The new GenX has several great new features we know you will enjoy. First of all, the shroud has been completely redesigned to use a single thickness of extruded acrylic. This helps keep manufacturing costs down and material tolerances at a minimum. The base of the shroud now has additional bolts and a locking spacer ring to keep the bearings within from jamming beneath the top retaining ring.

Permanent Mesh

Furthermore, by popular demand, the mesh on the back of the shroud has become a permanent feature rather than a bolt-on lawsuit deterrent. Using a ring to retain the mesh yields a cleaner design and more sturdily secures the mesh to the shroud, resulting in 80% less finger injuries. Nylon standoffs now replace the custom acrylic spacers use to secure the motor a fixed distance from the shroud. These new components are a cheap piece of commercially available hardware that greatly increases airflow to the motor and decreases the number of components that need to be laser cut.

Motor standoffs - Also available in black!

While the shape of the hull is reminiscent of previous models, don't let that deceive you. The new GenX hull is thinner, sleeker and lighter to provide the smoothest ride possible. At just 4" thick, the hull protrudes from the water significantly less than its predecessors, decreasing the effect wind has on boat motion. The bottom of the hulls has also been covered with a protective rubberized compound to increase durability, particularly during repeated visits to the dry dock for repairs.

Rubberized hull coating

All in all, the new GenX is a true achievement in autonomous airboat technology and a testament to what can be accomplished with an Android phone, an idea and a whole lot of undergrad slave labor.

Using a boat in the wake of Pedring

Once the rain stopped and the wind dropped I headed out to find some flood waters. The water levels in the center of Manila, where flooding was once common, dropped within a few hours. Other areas, closer to the bay and with a less advanced drainage system, had knee deep water for days.

Rescue missions mounted across the nation. (Source)

I went to an area called Malabon, that was hit very badly by the typhoon. The streets were covered with debris and knee deep water covered most of the area. After meeting with the Barangay Captain (local councilman) I was given permission to test out the boats. Everyone was very excited and I gathered quite a crowd. Several people lended a hand and we were ready to deploy within minutes.

Setting up the boat

Then... I knocked the wifi router into the flood water!

Without a backup I reluctantly had to cancel the mission. Everyone was very disappointed.

Two days later returned with a brand new router. This time, there was less excitement and my team consisted of only three people. I kept everything inside the car to keep it super dry.

For about half an hour I drove one of the boats around with the sensors attached. The Barangay officials were very amused and advised me that the boat definitely needed reverse (which I agreed with) and a horn (which I am skeptical about).

I will post the results of the testing once the maps are complete.

Nesat (Pedring) update: introducing the Airboat Deployment Officer uniform

Typhoon Nesat (local name Pedring) has reached the land in Luzon, northern Philippines. Last night the storm warning for Laguna, where I am based, was upgraded to Signal level 2 (three is the highest). Land slides have occurred in some southern islands and a tornado has reportedly swept through Isabella, Luzon damaging six houses. (Source: philstar.com)

As you can see, this morning at 3am the typhoon was right over Northern Philippines. (Source: wunderground.com)

Classes at institutions from the kindergarten level right up to university have been cancelled today. This includes, perhaps ironically, a talk that I suppose to give at University of Philippines, Los Banos on using the boats in disaster response.

To prepare for the immense rain that is expected over the next 48 hours I have developed the Airboat Deployment Officer (ADO) uniform.

ADO uniform. 

All Airboat Deployment Officers should have:

• One pair of waterproof boots. Black.
• One umbrella. Black.
• One waterproof jacket. Clear*.
• One pair of waterproof pants. Clear*.

What you could look like if you become an ADO today!

*If ADO prefers, they can choose a coloured uniform. This gives them the option of remaining naked under the uniform.

Preparing for Typhoon Nesat (Pedring)

Today I am getting the boats ready for Typhoon Nesat (local name Pedring) - a typhoon off the coast of the Philippines.

I am busy charging batteries, polishing hulls and waterproofing in the hope that one of these boats will get deployed in the aftermath of a real typhoon.

Here are some images, provided by www.wunderground.com:

Source: wunderground.com

Source: wunderground.com

As you can see Nesat is predicted to become a category 3 typhoon sometime tomorrow morning as it passes over Northern Philippines.

PAGASA (the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) has estimated 10 to 20 mm of rain per hour within a 600km diameter of the typhoon. Heavy rain is expected in Metro Manila. (Source: gmanews)

Over the next 48 to 72 hours I plan to learn as much as I can about the preparation and response of a tropical typhoon. Even if I can't get the boats out I will learn valuable information that will directly help further research into the Airboat project.

Keep up-to-date with the typhoon at these sites:

• http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/wp201120.html
• http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/
• http://www.typhoon2000.ph/

Stay tuned for more updates over the next few days.

Day 5: Part 2 – Two new records

The world’s youngest autonomous airboat operator

Meet Aiden. He is nine years old and one day he wants to be a pilot. On Saturday we trained him in becoming an airboat operator.

The first component of Aiden's training was transporting the boats.

Next Aiden became a connectivity expert - holding up the router.

Finally Aiden is controlling three different boats at once.

Aiden used his experience in video games to become the youngest ever autonomous airboat controller. He sent the boats off to different locations, monitoring them to ensure that they didn’t crash into anything.

In order for the hundreds of autonomous airboats to be built and deployed across the world they must be easy to build, operate and maintain. The team at CMU has worked tirelessly to simplify the control system of the airboats in order to make them extremely intuitive. Aiden's immediate ability to control the airboats demonstrates that just about anyone can be an airboat operator.

Five boats at once

For the first time, we had five boats in the water.

Since the beginning of the trip we were striving to get five boats operating autonomously in the water. Until Saturday we had only managed to run 4 at one time. On Saturday, however, after waiting out a particular nasty thunderstorm we successfully deployed 5 boats. Abhinav was able to control all of them and give them different paths to follow. This success continued for over an hour before finally our power supply (a UPS) gave up.

It was extremely exciting to see all of the boats in the water at once. They performed flawlessly and, for the first time for me, really demonstrated the potential of the airboats.

The volcano in the background.

These boats were operating for over an hour.

After our power-supply gave up the boats needed to be rescued.

Video:





The results of the testing

The 5TE sensor was strapped to two boats to once again gather data about temperature and electrical conductivity. After processing this data we found some rather amazing results. The level of electrical conductivity in this water was much higher than we had found the day before.
We deployed the boats before and after the rain. After the rain the electrical conductivity dropped from 1.5820 dS/m to 1.2928. The temperature also dropped, from 31.8112°C to 30.1313 °C.

At the end of the post are the results in graphical form.

An important meeting

As word spread around town that there was some interesting testing occurring on the lake we received word that the regional director for environment and natural resources wanted to meet with us.
We joined him for dinner at a house and showed him the boats. He seemed to be quite interested as we described the potential of the boats. We hope to be able to work with him and his organization in the future to conduct some extensive tests in the lake.
We described what the boats could do and the various different sensors that could be fitted on to them.

Abhinav unnecessarily explained the boats right down to the basics. "This is a com-pu-ter".

Antonio was very excited to operate the boats himself.

All in all it was a fantastic day and we were extremely proud of our efforts and the fantastic work of the team back at CMU.


The graphs...

Electrical conductivity (before rain)

Temperature (before rain)

Electrical conductivity (after rain)

Temperature (after rain)