Underwater robots are being developed for various applications ranging from inspection to maintenance and cleaning of submerged surfaces and constructions. These platforms should be able to travel on these surfaces. Furthermore, these platforms should adapt and reconfigure for underwater environment conditions and should be autonomous. Regarding the adhesion to the surface, they should produce a proper attaching force using a light-weight technics. Taking these facts into consideration, this paper presents a survey of different technologies used for underwater cleaning and the available underwater robotics solutions for the locomotion and the adhesion to surfaces.

We present the adopted motion control schemes of a novel current collector manipulator to be mounted beneath a heavy hybrid electric vehicle to collect electric power from road embedded power lines. We describe our approach of power line detection and tracking based on an array of inductive proximity sensors. The emphasis is on the adopted motion control logic for sequential and closed loop motions to detect and track the power line respectively. We implement the sliding mode control approach for the closed loop control scheme as straightforward solution given the binary nature of the inductive proximity sensors being used. The overall architecture of the entire motion control system is presented. Finally, the implementation of the entire control logic in a form of a state machine is discussed.

This paper presents the mechanical design and the control system architecture of anunderwater robot, developed for bio-fouling cleaning surfaces. The robotic system presented herehas been designed to improve the productivity, reduce the environmental impacts, and excludethe hazards for the operators. The control system has a layered structure which is distributed intotwo blocks: cleaning robot, and on-board base station connected with power and control cablesand a water hose, to facilitate different modes of operations and to increase the system reliability.A low level control has been implemented on the robotic platform. The onboard station designedto be in different layers of the control system: manual, semiautonomous and autonomous modes.A scaled prototype has been implemented and tested to prove the concept, and to make certainthat the mechanical design and the chosen control system are perfectly suited to the mainfunctions of the robotic system.

Both the principle of operation and the motion-control system of a suspended robot for surface cleaning in silos are presented in this paper. The mechanical design is a reasonable compromise between basically contradictory factors in the design: the small entrance and the large surface of the confined space, and the suspension and the stabilization of the robot. The design consists of three main parts: a support unit, the cleaning robot and a cleaning mechanism. The latter two parts enter the silo in a folded form and, thereafter, the robot’s arms are spread in order to achieve stability during the cleaning process. The vertical movement of the robot is achieved via sequential crawling motions.

The control system is divided into two separate subsystems, the robot’s control subsystem and a support-unit control subsystem, in order to facilitate different operational modes. The robot has three principle motion-control tasks: positioning the robot inside the silo, holding a vertical position during the cleaning process and a crawling movement.

A scaled prototype of the robot has been implemented and tested to prove the concept, in order to make certain that the mechanical design suits the main functions of the robotic system, to realize the robot’s design in an industrial version and to test it in a realistic environment.

This paper presents a prototype of a novel current collector manipulator that can be mounted beneath a road vehicle between the front and rear wheels to collect electric power from road embedded power lines. The ground-level power supply concept for road vehicles is described and the kinematic model of this two degree of freedom manipulator is detailed. Finally, the power line detection, based on an array of inductive sensors, is discussed.

This paper introduces a new concept of flexible crawling mechanism in the design ofindustrial in-water cleaning robot, which is evaluated from the viewpoint of work and operationon an underwater surface. It enables the scanning and cleaning process performed by water jets,while keeping stable robot position on the surface by its capacity to bear and compensate the jetreactions. Such robotic platform can be used for cleaning and maintenance of various underwatersurfaces, including moving ships in the open sea. The designed robot implements its motions bycontraction and expansion of legged mechanism using standard motors and suction cupstechnology. In this study we focus at the conditions for achieving enough adhesion for keepingcontinuous contact between the robot and the surface and robot stability in different situations forthe basic locomotions.

A suspended robot for surface cleaning in silos is presented in this paper. Thesuggested concept is a reasonable compromise between the basic contradictingfactors in the design: small entrance and large surface of the confined space,suspension and stabilization of the robot. A dynamic study for the suspendedrobot is presented in this paper. A dynamic simulation in MSC ADAMS iscarried out to confirm the results from the theoretic study.

This paper introduces a study of a concept of exible crawling mechanism todesign an industrial underwater cleaning robot, which is evaluated from theviewpoint of the capability to work underwater, scanning the desired surface,and bearing the reactions. This can be used as a robotic application in under-water surface cleaning and maintenance. In this study we focused on realizingthe adhesion on the surface in stationary and in motion, bearing reactions,enabling the needed locomotion types for scanning, and achieving the stabilityin dierent situations on the surface.

Nanodispersions based on food grade biocompatible materials were developed and structurally characterized to be used as carriers of bioactive compounds with specific nutritional value. The main idea was to formulate concentrated solutions of specific food components at the nanoscale to be consumed either on their own or as integrating parts of classic foods, upon aqueous dilution. For this purpose microemulsions consisting of (R)-(+)-limonene/ethanol/Tween 40/water/propylene glycol were formulated in the presence and in the absence of squalene, gallic acid and octyl gallate. The limits of the single-phase region as described by pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were related to the nature of the food additive. The more extended monophasic region was obtained when octyl gallate was added in the system. Interfacial properties of the microemulsions were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy employing the nitroxide spin probe 5-doxylstearic acid (5-DSA). In general guest molecules decreased the flexibility of the surfactant monolayer as manifested from the calculation of rotational correlation time (T-R) and order parameter S of 5-DSA. Particle size measurements were performed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and oil droplet diameters in the range of 11.7 to 17.4 nm were observed. The addition of squalene resulted in the formulation of larger oily droplets whereas octyl gallate formed smaller ones. Finally SAXS experiments provided qualitative information of o/w microemulsions showing squalene solubilization in the dispersed oily phase, octyl gallate localization on the membrane and gallic acid solubilization in the continuous aqueous phase. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper introduces a new concept of flexible crawling mechanism to design an industrial underwater cleaning robot, which is evaluated from the viewpoint of the capability to work underwater, scanning the desired surface, and bearing the reactions. This can be used as a robotic application in underwater surface cleaning and maintenance. We designed a robot that realizes the motion by contraction and extraction using DC-motors and vacuum technology. In this study we first focused on realizing the adhesion, bearing reactions, and achieving a stable locomotion on the surface.