LSU Engineering, Chance Maritime Collaborate on Uncrewed Underwater Research

14.11.2024
In an old quarry near Lafayette, La., an uncrewed boat is dropping a remote-controlled robot down to the bottom of a lakebed before retrieving it and returning to shore. If a passerby stumbled upon this scene, he or she might think it was something out of a spy movie. Instead, it’s a cutting-edge project that shows how advanced robotic systems can help monitor and protect marine environments, as well as inspect and maintain offshore infrastructure.





Led by LSU Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Corina Barbalata and her students—Donovan Gegg, Mikhalib Green, and Edward Morgan—the project is a collaboration between the LSU College of Engineering and Chance Maritime Technologies, headquartered in Lafayette. The two parties were brought together by Integer Technologies, which is involved in another of Barbalata’s current research projects.

“The project demonstrates the feasibility of using uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) to deploy smaller, more specialized robots like remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for in-depth marine surveys,” Barbalata said. “It highlights the capability to access remote areas without requiring large infrastructure, opening up possibilities for exploring uncharted regions that may be otherwise inaccessible. underscores how advanced robotic systems can help monitor and protect marine environments efficiently and with minimal impact.

“These technologies can aid in preserving natural resources, ensuring sustainable ecosystems, and supporting climate resilience. This means progress in ocean conservation efforts; improved disaster response for marine incidents; and potential benefits in fields such as fisheries, tourism, and coastal infrastructure protection.”

The project leverages one of Chance Maritime’s USVs—i.e., a robotic boat—to deploy one of Barbalata’s ROVs, which is mounted with a camera. The USV is a long-endurance, high-power robotic boat designed, built, and operated by Chance Maritime. The ROV is connected by tether to a computer onboard the USV. Communication is then routed through a Starlink connection from the USV’s onboard computer to the onshore remote operations center, allowing the ROV operator—Gegg—to manage deployment, operation, and retrieval from the shore in coordination with the USV pilot from Chance Maritime.

Once the ROV is piloted back to shore, the images it has collected are transferred to computers in Barbalata’s lab. Those images are color corrected by Green to restore true submerged colors and processed into a 3D model of the underwater site, which is useful for applications such as environmental monitoring, habitat assessment, and infrastructure inspection.

The collaboration has been a mutually beneficial one, Barbalata said, allowing her students to get hands-on experience in field deployments of marine robotics, as well as a better understanding of industry needs and challenges. Stuart Chance, CEO of Chance Maritime, agrees.

“As an alumnus of LSU, it’s a pleasure to work with the students from Dr. Barbalata’s lab on this technology,” he said. “We continue to innovate on integrating new payload technologies into our USVs, and this work with LSU helps to move the ball forward on multi-domain uncrewed operations.




Location: Baton Rouge, LA, USA









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