Autonomous Aerial Water Sampling

112 Pages·2017·24.63 MB·English

University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Computer Science and Engineering: Theses,
Computer Science and Engineering, Department of
Dissertations, and Student Research
Spring 4-24-2014
Autonomous Aerial Water Sampling
John-Paul W. Ore
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected]
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AUTONOMOUS AERIAL WATER SAMPLING
by
John-Paul W. C. Ore
A THESIS
Presented to the Faculty of
The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska
In Partial Fulfilment of Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Science
Major: Computer Science
Under the Supervision of Carrick Detweiler and Matthew B. Dwyer
Lincoln, Nebraska
2014
May,
AUTONOMOUS AERIAL WATER SAMPLING
John-Paul W. C. Ore, M.S.
2014
University of Nebraska,
Advisers: Carrick Detweiler and Matthew B. Dwyer
Obtaining spatially separated, high frequency water samples from rivers and lakes is
critical to enhance our understanding and effective management of fresh water resources.
Inthisthesiswepresentanaerialwatersamplerandverifythesysteminfieldexperiments.
The aerial water sampler has the potential to vastly increase the speed and range at which
scientistsobtainwatersampleswhilereducingcostandeffort. Thewatersamplingsystem
1 2
includes: ) a mechanism to capture three 20 ml samples per mission; ) sensors and
3
algorithms for safe navigation and altitude approximation over water; and ) software
components that integrate and analyze sensor data, control the vehicle, and drive the
sampling mechanism. In this thesis we validate the system in the lab, characterize key
sensors, and present results of outdoor experiments. We compare water samples from
locallakesobtainedbyoursystemtosamplesobtainedbytraditionalsamplingtechniques.
We find that nearly all water properties are consistent between the two techniques. These
experiments show that despite the challenges associated with flying precisely over water,
it is possible to quickly obtain water samples with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
iii
COPYRIGHT
2014
© , John-Paul W. C. Ore
iv
DEDICATION
To Charles William and Constance Louise, my parents. To my ancestors Ray and Hilda,
Hans and Agnes. To my sisters and their families: Heidi, Jon, Janna, Todd, Zoie, Kira,
Fiona, and Ursula.
v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IwouldliketothankourlimnologistandenvironmentalengineeringpartnersDr. Michael
Hamilton, Dr. Amy Burgin, and Dr. Sally Thompson, for their continuous support of
these efforts. Deep thanks and gratitude to Dr. Sebastian Elbaum for his insightful
suggestions and encouragement and Dr. Witawas Srisa-an for his helpful feedback. I
would also like to acknowledge the valued assistance of Baoliang Zhao, Hengle Jiang,
Jacob Greenwood, Adam Taylor, Dave Anthony, Jared Ostdiek, Christa Webber, Emily
Waring, Dr. Seth McNeil, and the NIMBUS Lab.
vi
GRANT INFORMATION
2013 67021 20947 9550
ThisworkwaspartiallysupportedbyUSDA-NIAF# - - ,AFOSR#FA -
10 1 0406 1116221
- - , NSF IIS- . Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations
expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views
of these agencies.
vii
Contents
Contents vii
List of Figures xi
List of Tables xiv
1 Introduction 1
11 3
. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12 6
. Contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13 7
. Thesis Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2 Related Work 8
21 8
. Water Sampling Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22 11
. Control Systems and System States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23 11
. Information-based Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24 12
. Altitude Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25 13
. Cable Suspended Loads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26 13
. Water Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27 14
. Kalman Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28 15
. Low-Altitude with Human Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
viii
29 15
. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 UAV Water Sampling Applications 17
31 18
. Basic Science: Limnology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32 19
. Environmental Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33 20
. Disaster Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34 22
. eDNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35 23
. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 Electromechanical Design 24
41 24
. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42 26
. Aerial Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43 29
. Design of the UAV Water Sampling Mechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
431 30
. . Frame to hold components: the ‘Chassis’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
432 31
. . Glass Vials and Lids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
433 32
. . Servo to direct flow of water: the ‘Needle’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
434 33
. . Flexible Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
435 33
. . Submersible Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
436 35
. . Flushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
437 35
. . Breakaway Tube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
438 36
. . Tether for Passive Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
439 36
. . Embedded System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44 39
. Sensors For Near Water Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
441 39
. . Ultrasonic Rangefinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
442 42
. . Water Conductivity Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45 43
. Electro-Mechanical Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ix
5 Software 44
51
. Ground Station Software:
46
Mission Control, State Machine, Safety Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
511 46
. . General UAV Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
512 47
. . Water Sampling Specific Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
513 48
. . Finite State Automata (FSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52 50
. Embedded Software: Pumping, Flushing, and Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . .
53 53
. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 Altitude Estimation and
Water Sampling Effectiveness 54
61 55
. Altitude Estimation Over Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
611 56
. . Characterization of Pressure Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
612 59
. . Characterization of Ultrasonic Rangefinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
613 62
. . Kalman Filter Low-Altitude Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
614 67
. . Final Altitude Estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62 69
. Sampler Effectiveness Experiments - Indoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63 70
. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7 Field Experiments 71
71 72
. Outdoor Altitude Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72 73
. Outdoor Water Sampling Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73 75
. Water crash at Holmes Lake, Lincoln NE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74 76
. Demonstration at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75 77
. Water Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
751 79
. . Dissolved Oxygen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
752 81
. . Dissolved Gasses: Sulfate and Chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .