Exploiting advances in underwater robotics, sensor networks, signal processing, and biophysical modeling, the goal of this award is to create a novel paradigm for monitoring and understanding aquatic ecosystems and thus enable sustainable management of water resources. In this paradigm, schools of autonomous gliding robotic fish adaptively sample the water environment. The collected measurements are used to reconstruct high-resolution data fields with advanced multidimensional signal processing algorithms. The reconstructed data fields, along with the data samples, facilitate the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems and enable high-fidelity, mechanistic modeling of the underlying biophysical processes for accurate forecast. The objectives of this award include addressing fundamental problems at the interfaces between the building blocks of the paradigm, and demonstrating a proof of concept for the latter. Specifically, five highly integrated research thrusts are pursued: (1) developing path-planning and control algorithms for the robots to realize information-driven, energy-efficient sampling, (2) developing robust communication protocols and effective in-network parameter-estimation algorithms, (3) establishing tensor sparsification-based frameworks for data-field reconstruction using limited data samples, (4) exploiting reconstructed data fields and network-estimated sub-models to create accurate mechanistic models, and (5) evaluating and demonstrating the integrative paradigm in the monitoring and prediction of Harmful Algal Blooms.
This award is expected to result in a new, holistic framework for monitoring, understanding, and managing freshwater and marine environments, with a myriad of applications in oil spill response, ecosystem monitoring, and drinking water safety, to name a few. The project provides interdisciplinary training opportunities for students, including those from underrepresented groups. Robotic fish demos, museum exhibits, and teacher-training activities are offered to engage K-12 students, teachers, and the public, and to pique their interest in science and engineering. Besides the dissemination of research findings through conference presentations, publications, and workshops, commercialization of the developed technologies is pursued to facilitate their practical adoption.
