Preliminary Study of Autonomous Cleaning System Using Manipulator for Niche Area of Ship Hull

Abstract

Biofouling is a problem of considerable Eco economic significance. Because biofouling brings about skin friction drag of ship and caused disturb ecosystem, the regulation of ship hull cleaning is being strengthened. However, niche area of ship is difficult to cleaning using vehicle-based robot due to the complex cleaning area and the biofouling’s fast rate of growth. In this paper, we suggested an autonomous cleaning system using multi degree-of-freedom hydraulic manipulator for niche area of ship hull. Our system used a manipulator to reach a complex niche area and recognized the cleaning target surface using a laser-camera system. Based on the recognized cleaning area, cleaning robot planned an optimal path considering with full coverage and normal vectors of target area. This robot system was verified in ground and underwater, and showed the reasonable cleaning performance.