TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to offshore industry and to the field of Launch and Recovery Systems (LARS) located on an uncontrollably moving surface used to launch and recover objects from a separate surface that also move uncontrollably. The present invention generally relates to UUVs, and AUVs, and automatic, safe and autonomous deployment and recovery of unwired UUVs and AUVs. The present disclosure discloses a method of recovering a marine vehicle floating on a choppy water surface, a method of launching a marine vehicle onto a choppy water surface, and a launch and recovery system for launching and recovering a marine vehicle onto and from a choppy water surface. The present disclosure also relates to a computer program for carrying out the method of the present disclosure.

BACKGROUND

In many situations, especially in offshore industry, a Launch and Recovery System (LARS) located on an uncontrollably moving surface must be used to launch and recover objects from a separate surface that also moves uncontrollably. Such situations are very difficult and often risky for manual operations and therefore must be automated. Also, such manual operations are limited to calm sea conditions (wave height below one meter) as otherwise damage to equipment or loss of a human life can occur.

The usage of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV-s) is growing rapidly, but there is a major bottleneck. A launch and recovery of AUV-s today is a dangerous process that needs crew members to go down on the water. In rough sea conditions it' s almost impossible, because a mistake could lead to the damage of expensive equipment or danger to human life.

Today, there are existing some automated launch and recovery systems, but only for certain AUV models and for operating deep under water. AI- Lars can eliminate costly and fatal incidents with the launch and recovery of autonomous underwater vehicles. Currently, following solutions are used in Launch and Recovery System (LARS). Subsea cage: A cage is lowered from the surface vessel and the AUV is guided into the cage using hydroacoustic positioning. This requires a special-purpose vessel with a moonpool, making retrofitting impossible in most cases. Such solutions have a limited application range, and they require deeper integration with vessel subsea positioning systems. Stern entry system: Stern entry systems require manually hooking the AUV to a towline, posing risks to operators and to the AUV. They also require special-purpose vessels, making retrofitting impossible. 2 davit arm system: The crane-like systems require manually hooking the AUV to the lifting device, which poses risks to operators, as well as to the AUV, especially in rough seas. Such systems have limited maneuverability and they are heavy. Automated systems: Some AUV manufacturers are developing automated systems tailored to specific AUV (e.g., HUGIN by Kongsberg), but they are limited in scalability.

In many situations, especially in offshore industry, a Launch and Recovery System (LARS) located on an uncontrollably moving surface must be used to launch and recover objects from a separate surface that also moves uncontrollably. Such situations are very difficult and often risky for manual operations and therefore must be automated. Also, such manual operations are limited to calm sea conditions (wave height below one meter) as otherwise damage to equipment or loss of a human life can occur. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) offer nearly endless possibilities in offshore industry, where they can be used for pipeline and platform inspections, bathymetric surveys, deepwater drilling, etc. The potential has made AUVs the fastest-growing segment of the marine shipping market. However, the use of AUVs is limited to calm sea conditions (wave heigh below 1 meter) because launch and recovery of AUVs with current technologies is too risky in rough sea conditions. This severely limits the uptake and benefits of AUVs.

Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with launch and recovery systems known in the prior art.

During the early 1950s, Alan Turing (a young British mathematician) was one of the first researchers to explore the mathematical possibility of artificial intelligence. Turing suggested that humans use available information as well as reason in order to solve problems and make decisions and wondered why computers could not do the same. Research was slow. During this time, computers lacked a key prerequisite for intelligence: they couldn't store commands - they could only execute them. In addition, the cost of leasing a computer to conduct such research cost ~$200,000 a month and only prestigious universities and big technology companies could afford them. Five years later, a logic program was designed to mimic the problem-solving skills of humans and was funded by the RAND Corporation. This program is considered by many to be the first artificial intelligence program and was presented at the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence. In the 1970s computers could store more information and became faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Machine learning algorithms also improved and people got better at knowing which algorithm to apply to specific problems. However, weaknesses continued. The biggest problem was the lack of computational power to do anything substantial: computers simply couldn't store enough information or process it fast enough. In order to communicate, for example, one needs to know the meanings of many words and understand them in many combinations and the computing power was not ready.

In the 1980's, interest in Al was reignited by two sources: an expansion of the algorithmic toolkit, and a boost in private funding. During these years, researchers popularized 'deep learning' techniques which allowed computers to learn using experience data. 'Expert systems which mimicked the decision- making process of a human expert also emerged. This program would ask an expert in a field how to respond in a given situation, and once this was learned for virtually every situation, nonexperts could receive advice from that program. Expert systems were widely used in industries. In 1997, reigning world chess champion and grand master Gary Kasparov was defeated by IBM's Deep Blue, a chess playing computer program. This highly publicized match was the first time a reigning world chess champion loss to a computer and served as a huge step towards an artificially intelligent decision-making program. In the same year, speech recognition software, developed by Dragon Systems, was implemented on Windows computers. This was another great step forward in the direction of the spoken language interpretation endeavor. Kismet, a robot developed by Cynthia Breazeal was an Al system that recognized and displayed human emotions.

2015 was considered to be a landmark year for artificial intelligence as the number of software projects as 'Al Google' and 'neural networks' became available. These increases in affordable neural networks were due to a rise in cloud computing infrastructure and to an increase in research tools and datasets. Other examples of popular Al include Microsoft's development of a Skype system that automatically translates from one language to another and Facebook's system that can describe images to blind people. Around 2016, China greatly accelerated its government funding (given its large supply of data and its rapidly increasing research output) some observers believe it may be on track to becoming an 'Al superpower.' While Al has been gaining popularity in many industrialized nations, little Al has been leveraged for use in deploying and recovering UUVs and AUVs.

SUMMARY

The aim of the present disclosure is to provide a method and system for launching and recovering a marine vehicle onto and from a choppy water surface to ensure a safe launch and recovery of the marine vehicle. The aim of the disclosure is achieved by a method, system and computer program as defined in the appended independent claims to which reference is made to. Advantageous features are set out in the appended dependent claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure thus enable to overcome the problems encountered in the prior art.

Additional aspects, advantages, features and objects of the present disclosure will be made apparent from the drawings and the detailed description of the illustrative embodiments construed in conjunction with the appended claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with references to the following diagrams wherein:

FIG. 1 is and illustration of a launch and recovery system (LARS) according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a method steps of the method of launching and recovering a marine vehicle from a choppy water surface.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the steps of the method of recovering a marine vehicle from a choppy water surface. FIG. 4 is an illustration of a perspective view of the autonomous launch and recovery system on a vessel.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a perspective view of the autonomous launch and recovery system tracking UUV.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a representative view of the autonomous launch and recovery system's method having user functions that include but are not limited to: subscription levels (payments and features); configuration settings (initializing UUVs and AUVs, connecting to app and website, interface settings etc.); real time remote monitoring for stakeholders. Users and ship personnel can interact with the system via desktop computers, tablets and smart phones etc.

Other aspects of the present invention shall be more readily understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description, neither of which should be considered limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description illustrates embodiments of the present disclosure and ways in which they can be implemented.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of recovering a marine vehicle floating on a choppy water surface, the method comprising: determining a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface and continuously monitoring a change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location in real time, moving a gripper to a predetermined distance from the marine vehicle, controlling a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the monitored change of the location coordinates of the marine vehicle, determining an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle, calculating a moment of grabbing the marine vehicle; recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface at the calculated moment with the gripper.

In one aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of launching a marine vehicle onto a choppy water surface, the method comprising: continuously monitoring a change of the choppy water surface in real time, moving a gripper holding the marine vehicle to a predetermined distance from the choppy water surface, controlling a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the change of the choppy water surface, determining a launching point of time, when a launching wave height is achieved and releasing the marine vehicle at the determined launching point of time from the gripper onto the choppy water surface.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a launch and recovery system for launching and recovering a marine vehicle onto and from a choppy water surface, the launch and recovery system comprising a gripper configured to launch and recover the marine vehicle, one or more sensors connected to the gripper, the one or more sensors being operable to determine a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface and continuously monitor a change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location in real time; determine an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle; or continuously monitor a change of the choppy water in real time; a controller operable to control a movement of the gripper to a predetermined distance from the marine vehicle or the choppy water surface; control a position of the gripper according to the marine vehicle by continuously changing the position of the gripper based on the change of the location coordinates of the marine vehicle; determine an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle, calculate a moment of grabbing the marine vehicle; or control a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the change of the choppy water surface, determine a launching point of time, when a launching wave height is achieved.

In an aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the methods of the present disclosure.

In many situations, especially in offshore industry, a Launch and Recovery System (LARS) located on an uncontrollably moving surface must be used to launch and recover objects from a separate surface that also moves uncontrollably. Such situations are very difficult and often risky for manual operations and therefore must be automated. Also, such manual operations are limited to calm sea conditions (wave height below one meter) as otherwise damage to equipment or loss of a human life can occur. The embodiments of the present disclosure automate the whole process and therefore eliminate the risks. It can be used in rough sea conditions (wave height up to four meters) or any other situation where involved surfaces can be moving uncontrollably. The versatility of the embodiments of the present disclosure enables it to also be used in stationary condition or any combination or movements. The launchable or retrievable object does not require any sensors installed on itself.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and/or unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) offer nearly endless possibilities in offshore industry, where they can be used for pipeline and platform inspections, bathymetric surveys, deepwater drilling, etc. The potential has made AUVs and UUVs the fastest-growing segment of the marine shipping market. However, the use of AUVs and UUVs is limited to calm sea conditions (wave heigh below 1 meter) because launch and recovery of AUVs and UUVs with current technologies is too risky in rough sea conditions. This severely limits the uptake and benefits of AUVs and UUVs.

The embodiments of the present disclosure automates the whole process and, thereby, eliminates the risks to human operators, AUVs and UUVs, and surface vessels even in rough sea conditions (wave height above 4 meters). The embodiments of the present disclosure will remove the barriers to the uptake of AUVs and UUVs to unlock the potential the technology has in the marine sector.

The methods and device disclosed within the present disclosure and described provides a solution to the shortcomings in the prior art through the disclosure of a launch and recovery method for unwired UUVs and AUVs. An object of the invention is to allow launches and recoveries to be performed autonomously. For example, as a ship approaches a UUV (or UUV approaches a ship), it detects its exact coordinates, moves a crane into position, connects to the UUV, and hoists it on board safely.

Another object of the invention is to use combination of GPS, digital imagery and position sensors to locate and pinpoint a UUVs' and AUVs' exact position for retrieval. For example, a vessel captures a AUV's or UUVs GPS transmission as it waits on the surface. As the ship approaches, it activates digital cameras that inform the system of its exact position in the water so that retrieval can be initiated.

Another object of the invention is to allow a crane to sync its grappling device, for example a gripper, movements to those of the UUV or AUV to allow retrieval to be performed smoothly. The digital imaging system and position sensors capture the payload's movements and transmits the pattern to the crane's positioning system that allows for such syncing. Another object of the invention is to leverage Al to learn the various UUV and AUV configurations so that they can be retrieved and deployed by a crane. The Al also learns sea conditions that allow such conditions to be factored into retrieval and deployment operations to minimize sway of the payloads in relation to a vessel's own movements for enhanced safety.

The present disclosure comprises real-time detection of uncontrolledly moving objects, marine vehicles in uncontrolled environment, like sea surface, especially choppy water surface, and calculating, using AI- component the real-time coordinates of those objects, marine vehicles. At the same time, using those coordinates to operate a Launch and Recovery System (LARS), located on one of uncontrolledly moving object, to approach second uncontrolledly moving object, the second uncontrolledly moving object being the marine vehicle, with precision, given by control system or controller according to degree of uncertainty of environment (sea state). As result, using the same calculation process based on Al-component, LARS catches second uncontrolledly moving object without any harmful collision.

A "marine vehicle" in the present disclosure can be unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs), remotely operated vehicle (ROVs), small boats, lifeboats or any other marine vehicle, which needs to be launched and recovered to a choppy water surface by a launch and recovery system (LARS). The "launch and recovery system (LARS)" in the context of the present disclosure is a system that is commonly used in the deployment and retrieval of various types of vessels, such as boats, submarines, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), or unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) from water, more specifically offshore waters. It may involve features like davits, cranes, winches, ramps, gripper/grippers to lower the vessels into the water or lift them back onto the main ship or platform. LARS is placed on a surface that can be moving uncontrollably and is used to launch and recover objects to or from another moving surface that can be moving uncontrollably, for example a body of water. LARS utilizes a gripper or a robotic gripper that comprises at least one visual sensor and at least one distance sensor. Lights and UV lights can be used if the conditions require them. A "choppy water surface" is a water surface while wind-blowing which turns water rippling with waves and rough. The choppy water surface may have wave height from one meter up to four meters and/or any other situation where involved water surfaces are moving uncontrollably. The choppy water surface may have wave height from one, two, three up to three, four meters. The higher the way, the more difficult it is to control the launch and recovery system for AUVs or UUVs.

To start recovering a marine vehicle floating on a choppy water surface, the LARS moves to a working position where one or more sensors, especially a visual sensor, which may be selected from a Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras, 3D cameras a RGB cameras, overseeing a pick-up zone, where the marine vehicle is located. The pick-up zone is an area, where the marine vehicle is detected by the one or more sensors, especially visual sensors, for example a camera. The visual sensors may be selected from cameras, for example stereo camera, RGB camera, digital camera, thermal cameras, infrared sensors, lidars, radars, sonars, Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors, laser sensors. The LARS comprises a gripper, which is connected to the one or more sensors. The gripper in the context of the present disclosure is an apparatus, which can hold and grasp the marine vehicle securely. The gripper may be selected from mechanical grippers, vacuum grippers, magnetic grippers, adaptive grippers, robotic grippers. The gripper is integrated into automated LARS system using one or more sensors. The gripper may also be connected to actuators and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). a pair of electro-hydraulically driven grippers. The gripper may also be selected from a pair of fully electrically driven grippers, two pairs of electro-hydraulically driven grippers, two pairs of fully electrically driven grippers. The gripper may further comprise a plurality of rubber pads combined with rubberized plastic wheels mounted on the gripper and damping elements.

In an embodiment, for the visual sensors to see better, data from motion reference unit (MRU) placed on a base of a gripper is used for active heave compensation (AHC) of the gripper and therefore the visual sensors are stable despite the movement of the surface the LARS is located on. In an embodiment, the LARS may be located on a vessel or a ship. The vessel may be selected from any kind of AUV retrieving apparatus, vessels, platforms on shore apparatus, unmanned vessels.

The one or more sensors, which mat comprise a visual sensor(s), sends live images to a controller which comprises a software program and AL Based on a training data of the Al, the system recognizes markers on the marine vehicle or the marine vehicle itself. The Al gets an information from RGB pictures and 3D point cloud from TOF sensors and uses it to identify the marine vehicle and calculates what movements must be executed to retrieve the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface it is on. Using a 3D point cloud from distance sensor (for example ToF sensor) the distance from the gripper to the markers or the object is calculated.

The gripper moves to a predetermined distance, which is predefined in the system according to the conditions like speed and amplitude of the object's movement to avoid collision. With this step, the gripper is moved closer to reduce the travel distance and therefore time for grabbing the marine vehicle at a moment of grabbing. After moving the gripper to the predetermined distance, the AHC turns off and the movement of the gripper will be controlled by visual odometry and telemetry. The marine vehicle, which will be retrieved or recovered from the choppy water surface, is considered as a zero point of the coordinate system the gripper moves in and the data about its location is updated in real time. A position of the marine vehicle's axis and a centre of mass is calculated based on the visual images and distance measurements received from one or more sensors. The calculated position of the marine vehicle is compared to the data of suitable positions for grabbing the object. Based on the training data, Al can predict where the object will be in a predefined time and starts moving the gripper into a suitable position for grabbing the object, so it is able to grab the object at the best moment avoiding any damage to the LARS or the marine vehicle. When the object is located safely it the gripper then the LARS raises it from the surface and moves it to a predefined place. Optionally, the gathered data can be saved to cloudbased network and used for further training of the AL The network can enable access to information of parameters, ongoing processes, and remote control of the LARS system for the user if needed.

In a similar way to the recovery process, one or more sensors and optionally Al is used to get information how the choppy water surface the marine vehicle must be launched onto is moving. The gripper with the marine vehicle is moved to a predetermined distance from the choppy water surface and a movement of the choppy water surface is calculated, optionally by Al, related to the marine vehicle. Based on the calculations or optionally using data of predictions, the marine vehicle is placed onto the choppy water surface when it is safe to do so, and collision is avoided.

The present disclosure comprises determining a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface and continuously monitoring a change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location in real time. The marine vehicle is determined from a distance by one or more sensors and the zero location coordinates are assigned to the marine vehicle. As the marine vehicle is floating on the water, the coordinates are continuously changing. Therefore, the change of location coordinates is continuously determined in real time. This will ensure to determine, how the marine vehicle is floating on the choppy water surface by changing the location coordinates in height, width, and length. Also, a speed and amplitude of the marine vehicle are changing on the choppy water surface. The change is caused by the choppy water surface, which has irregular and rough wave patterns. It typically occurs due to the presence of strong winds or conflicting currents that create turbulence on the surface. The waves in choppy water are characterized by their short wavelength and relatively steep height compared to calm or smooth water surfaces. Therefore, it is important to determine, how the marine vehicle is moving on the choppy water surface.

The present disclosure comprises moving a gripper to a predetermined distance from the marine vehicle. The predetermined distance is a safe distance predetermined in the system according to the conditions like speed and amplitude of the object's movement to avoid collision. The predetermined distance is determined based on the change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location. Dependent on the conditions, the predetermined distance may be 10 cm up to 300 cm. The predetermined distance may be selected from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150, 180, 200 cm up to 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300 cm. The gripper must be moved to the predetermined distance to make minimum efforts for recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface. If the predetermined distance would be more than 300 cm, extra steps would be necessary before recovering the marine vehicle with the gripper. If the distance would be less than 10 cm, then there is a high risk of collision between the gripper and the marine vehicle, which would result in damaging both or either one from the gripper or the marine vehicle.

The present disclosure further comprises controlling a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the monitored change of the location coordinates of the marine vehicle. When the gripper is moved to the predetermined distance, the gripper starts to float according to floating of the marine vehicle. This means, that position coordinates of the gripper will change equally to the change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle, but the gripper is still kept at the predetermined distance. If the marine vehicle changes its location in height, length or width, the gripper will change its coordinates accordingly.

The present disclosure further comprises determining an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle. Determining the angle of the central axis of the marine vehicle enables to determine a position of the marine vehicle, when the angle of the central axis is nearly parallel to the horizontal plane, which is necessary to achieve for recovering the marine vehicle safely from the choppy water surface. For a safe recovery, the central axis angle may deviate from the horizontal plane from 0° up to 20° degrees, preferably from 0° up to 10° degrees and more preferably from 0° up to 5° degrees. In ideal conditions, the angle of the central axis of the marine vehicle is near parallel, when the marine vehicle is floating at the highest point of the wave crest. This is the preferable time for recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water. The wave crest will support the recovering at that point.

The present disclosure comprises calculating a moment of grabbing the marine vehicle. As already explained previously, the marine vehicle would be grabbed from the choppy water surface, when the central axis of the marine vehicle is nearly parallel to the horizontal plane. Alternatively, and additionally, the marine vehicle is grabbed, when it is floating on the highest wave crest. Therefore, it is important to calculate beforehand, when is the moment of grabbing the marine vehicle to ensure safe recovering from the choppy water surface. The present disclosure comprises recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface at the calculated moment with the gripper. As already explained previously, when the conditions are achieved, it is safest to grab and recover the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface.

The steps of the present disclosure ensure, that an automated and safe launch and recovery system for recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface is provided. Furthermore, no human intervention is necessary with the method of the present disclosure. The method enables fully automatic and safe launch and recovery system for recovering the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure comprises calculating the moment of grabbing, which comprises calculating a possible grabbing position and comparing the calculated possible grabbing position with suitable positions for grabbing the marine vehicle. The possible grabbing position is a position of the marine vehicle on the choppy water surface, when the angle of the central axis of the marine vehicle is nearly parallel to the horizontal plane.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure comprises calculating the possible grabbing position of the marine vehicle comprises receiving images of the marine vehicle, calculating a distance from the gripper to the marine vehicle, calculating a position of the marine vehicle's axis in a horizontal plane and the centre of mass based on the visual images and distance measurements. In an embodiment, the marine vehicle may comprise markers, which will be visible on the received images of the marine vehicle. The markers enable better detection of the location coordinates of the marine vehicles. The marine vehicle may comprise one or more markers, preferably, at least two markers are necessary for determining the location for the marine vehicle by the one or more sensors. The centre of the mass will be calculated to determine correct location on the marine vehicle, where the gripper element will grab the marine vehicle. Without calculating the centre of the mass, the gripper element may grab the marine vehicle in undesired location, which may lead to uneven and unsafe recovering of the marine vehicle from the choppy water surface.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure comprises determining the predetermined distance comprises monitoring a change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle.

In an embodiment, the predetermined distance is from 20 cm up to 100 cm.

In an embodiment, the method of the present disclosure further comprises moving the gripper from the predetermined distance towards the marine vehicle before the moment of grabbing the marine vehicle. The gripper needs to be ready for grabbing at the moment of grabbing, therefore, the gripper will start moving towards the marine vehicle before. If the gripper would start moving towards the marine vehicle only at the moment of grabbing, the marine vehicle may change its position and location during the movement of the gripper and the gripper would not be able to grab the marine vehicle at previously discussed moment of grabbing.

In an embodiment, the method of the present disclosure the method further comprises detecting the marine vehicle in a pick-up zone before determining the zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle. Before determining a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the water, the marine vehicle will be detected in the pick-up zone, which is an area, where the marine vehicle is detected by the one or more sensors, especially visual sensors, for example a camera. In an embodiment, the method of the present disclosure the method further comprises active heave compensating of the gripper on the water surface using a motion reference unit (MRU). For the one or more sensors to see and determine the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface better, data from motion reference unit (MRU) placed on the base of a crane, where the gripper is attached, is used for active heave compensation (AHC) of the gripper and therefore the one or more sensors are stable despite the movement of the surface the LARS is located on.

In an embodiment, the method of the present disclosure the method further comprises turning off the active heave compensating, when the gripper is at the predetermined distance from the marine vehicle. The active heave compensation is turned off to enable the gripper to move according to the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface. This means, that the gripper will also start floating in the same way, as the marine vehicle is floating on the choppy water surface. However, the predetermined distance is still maintained until the gripper starts to move into the grabbing position.

The present disclosure further describes a method of launching a marine vehicle onto a choppy water surface. Due to rough conditions of the choppy water surface, it is a challenge to launch the marine vehicle to a water in offshore. Herein, provided is a method, which enables automatically and safely without any human intervention to launch the marine vehicle into the choppy water surface. The method is also suitable for using water conditions, which are less choppy.

The method of the present disclosure comprises monitoring a change of the choppy water surface in real time. The choppy water surface is monitored to detect speed, height/amplitude of a water wave. By continuously monitoring the speed, height/amplitude of the water wave, it is possible to define safe conditions for delivering the marine vehicle into the choppy water surface. The method of the present disclosure comprises moving a gripper holding the marine vehicle to a predetermined distance from the choppy water surface. The predetermined distance may be a safe distance predetermined in the system according to the conditions like speed, height/amplitude of the water wave to avoid collision. Dependent on the conditions, the predetermined distance may be 10 cm up to 300 cm. The predetermined distance may be selected from 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 90, 110, 130, 150, 180, 200 cm up to 200, 220, 240, 260, 280, 300 cm. The gripper must be moved to the predetermined distance to make minimum efforts for launching the marine vehicle to the choppy water surface. If the predetermined distance would be more than 300 cm, extra steps would be necessary before launching the marine vehicle with the gripper. If the distance would be less than 10 cm, then there is a high risk of collision between the gripper and the marine vehicle, which would result in damaging both or either one from the gripper or the marine vehicle.

The method of the present disclosure comprises controlling a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the change of the choppy water surface. When the gripper is moved to the predetermined distance, the gripper starts to float according to conditions of the choppy water surface, specifically according to speed and amplitude of the water wave. This means, that position coordinates of the gripper will change equally to the water wave.

The method of the present disclosure comprises determining a launching point of time, when a launching wave height is achieved and releasing the marine vehicle at the determined launching point of time from the gripper onto the choppy water surface. The marine vehicle may be launched to the choppy water surface at the highest wave crest, which will ensure, that minimum efforts are necessary to launch the marine vessel to the choppy water surface.

The present disclosure discloses a launch and recovery system (LARS) for launching and recovering a marine vehicle onto and from a choppy water surface. The launch and recovery system enables safe and automated launching or recovering of the marine vehicle to or from the choppy water surface. The launch and recovery system of the present disclosure may also be used in water conditions, which are less choppy. The same aspects, as already have been discussed with the methods of the present disclosure, also apply to the launch and recovery system of the present disclosure.

The launch and recovery system of the present disclosure comprises: a gripper configured to launch and recover the marine vehicle, one or more sensors connected to the gripper, the one or more sensors being operable to determine a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface and continuously monitor a change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location in real time; determine an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle; or continuously monitor a change of the choppy water in real time; a controller operable to control a movement of the gripper to a predetermined distance from the marine vehicle or the choppy water surface; control a position of the gripper according to the marine vehicle by continuously changing the position of the gripper based on the change of the location coordinates of the marine vehicle; determine an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle, calculate a moment of grabbing the marine vehicle; or control a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the change of the choppy water surface, determine a launching point of time, when a launching wave height is achieved.

In an embodiment, the one or more sensors further comprise at least one visual sensor and at least one distance sensor. The mentioned sensors are used to detect a location coordinates of the marine vehicle and distance from a gripper element to the marine vehicle, when in operation.

In an embodiment, the marine vehicle further comprises at least two markers detectable by the one or more sensors.

In an embodiment, the gripper further comprises a motion reference unit (MRU) operable to use active heave compensation (AHC) of the gripper on the water surface.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system further comprises at least one of lights, high frequency lights or UV lights. The different type of lights maybe used in different weather conditions to enable better detection of the one or more sensors.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system further comprises a suspension and retrieval (SAR) apparatus.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system further comprises a capture device suspended from the suspension and retrieval apparatus for engaging and securing the marine vehicle.

The present disclosure also discloses a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method described in the present disclosure.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system (LARS) further comprises: a suspension and retrieval (SAR) apparatus mountable on a surface vessel; a capture device suspended from the SAR apparatus, for engaging and securing the AUV, wherein the capture device is a frame, holding pair of grippers, a number of damping devices, holding apparatus for recognizing AUV, apparatus for recognizing AUV movement on water.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system (LARS) comprises an electro-hydraulically driven crane with telescopic end movement, which is mounted on vessel and operating capture device.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system (LARS) further comprises a fully electrically driven crane with telescopic end movement, which is mounted on vessel and operating capture device.

In an embodiment, the capture device further comprises: frame, holding pair of grippers, from two to four damping elements, apparatus for recognizing AUV, apparatus for illuminate AUV. In another embodiment, the capture device further comprises illuminating apparatus consisting of high frequency lights, UV-lights.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system (LARS) further comprises recognizing apparatus consisting of Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras, 3D cameras, RGB cameras.

In an embodiment, the launch and recovery system (LARS) further comprises a Motion Reference Unit on the frame of the crane or on the frame of grippers.

In an embodiment, the disclosure further provides an artificial intelligence (Al) enabled control system for launch and recovery system (LARS) located on a surface that can be moving uncontrollably for launching an object onto a surface that can be moving uncontrollably and can be a body of water and recovering it back from the surface, the Al-aided control system comprises: a controller, software program, distance measuring apparatus, visible imaging sensor, Al for object recognition and position calculation. In an embodiment, the Al-enabled control system may further comprise a personal computer (PC), industrial PC, programmable logic controller (PLC) or any other controller.

In an embodiment, the Al-enabled control system may further comprise a program code in any language enabling the execution of commands according to the input.

In an embodiment, the Al-enabled control system may further comprise at least one Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera, and/or at least one RGB (any type) camera or sensor. The Al-enabled control system may further comprise algorithms for image processing and/or algorithms and a training data set for object recognition, and or a line regression calculation, and/or algorithms for decision making, including when to let go or grab the object to launch or retrieve it safely

In an embodiment, the Al of the present disclosure may further comprise: Al-aided machine vision for recognizing the object, a mathematical model to calculate the position of the axis of the object.

In an embodiment, the Al-enabled control system may further comprise a logical sequence for operations.

A launch and recovery method for unwired, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is disclosed. The system is comprised of an existing vessel crane outfitted with high-definition, imaging technology and controlled by software having artificial intelligence algorithms (Al). The system uses GPS and digital recognition to locate and track UUVs and AUVs. The software allows the crane to carefully sync its movements with those of the floating payload, engage a hoist coupling and raise it onboard a vessel safely. The system also deploys such payloads to the sea. Al algorithms learn the various UUV and AUV types as well as sea conditions to make critical decisions on how and when to deploy and recover these sensitive payloads automatically.

In view of the disclosure provided herein, a mobile application is created by techniques known to those of skill in the art using hardware, languages, and development environments known to the art. Those of skill in the art will recognize that mobile applications are written in several languages include, by way of non-limiting examples, C, C+ + , C#, Objective-C, Java™, Javascript, Pascal, Object Pascal, Python™, Ruby, VB.NET, WML, and XHTML/HTML with or without CSS, or combinations thereof.

The software also compatible with a plurality of operating systems such as, but not limited to: WindowsTM, AppleTM, and AndroidTM, and compatible with a multitude of hardware platforms such as, but not limited to: personal desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and the like. Suitable mobile application development environments are available from several sources. Commercially available development environments include, by way of non-limiting examples, AirplaySDK, alcheMo, Appcelerator®, Celsius, Bedrock, Flash Lite, .NET Compact Framework, Rhomobile, and WorkLight Mobile Platform. Other development environments are available without cost including, by way of non- limiting examples, Lazarus, MobiFlex, MoSync, and Phonegap. Also, mobile device manufacturers distribute software developer kits including, by way of non-limiting examples, iPhone and iPad (iOS) SDK, Android™ SDK, BlackBerry® SDK, BREW SDK, Palm® OS SDK, Symbian SDK, webOS SDK, and Windows® Mobile SDK. Those of skill in the art will recognize that several commercial forums are available for distribution of mobile applications including, by way of non- limiting examples, Apple® App Store, Google® Play, Chrome Web Store, BlackBerry® App World, App Store for Palm devices, App Catalog for webOS, Windows® Marketplace for Mobile, Ovi Store for Nokia® devices, Samsung® Apps, and Nintendo® DSi Shop.

In some embodiments, a computer program includes a standalone application, which is a program that is run as an independent computer process, not an add-on to an existing process, e.g., not a plug-in. Those of skill in the art will recognize that standalone applications are often compiled. A compiler is a computer program(s) that transforms source code written in a programming language into binary object code such as assembly language or machine code. Suitable compiled programming languages include, by way of non-limiting examples, C, C+ + , Objective- C, COBOL, Delphi, Eiffel, Java™, Lisp, Python™, Visual Basic, and VB .NET, or combinations thereof. Compilation is often performed, at least in part, to create an executable program. In some embodiments, a computer program includes one or more executable complied applications. In some embodiments, the computer program includes a web browser plug-in (e.g., extension, etc.). In computing, a plug-in is one or more software components that add specific functionality to a larger software application. Makers of software applications support plugins to enable third-party developers to create abilities which extend an application, to support easily adding new features, and to reduce the size of an application. When supported, plug-ins enable customizing the functionality of a software application. For example, plug-ins are commonly used in web browsers to play video, generate interactivity, scan for viruses, and display particular file types. Those of skill in the art will be familiar with several web browser plug-ins including, Adobe® Flash® Player, Microsoft® Silverlight®, and Apple® QuickTime®.

In some embodiments, the platforms, systems, media, and methods disclosed herein include software, server, and/or database modules, or use of the same. In view of the disclosure provided herein, software modules are created by techniques known to those of skill in the art using machines, software, and languages known to the art. The software modules disclosed herein are implemented in a multitude of ways. In various embodiments, a software module comprises a file, a section of code, a programming object, a programming structure, or combinations thereof. In further various embodiments, a software module comprises a plurality of files, a plurality of sections of code, a plurality of programming objects, a plurality of programming structures, or combinations thereof. In various embodiments, the one or more software modules comprise, by way of non-limiting examples, a web application, a mobile application, and a standalone application. In some embodiments, software modules are in one computer program or application. In other embodiments, software modules are in more than one computer program or application. In some embodiments, software modules are hosted on one machine. In other embodiments, software modules are hosted on more than one machine. In further embodiments, software modules are hosted on cloud computing platforms. In some embodiments, software modules are hosted on one or more machines in one location. In other embodiments, software modules are hosted on one or more machines in more than one location.

It is additionally noted and anticipated that although the device is shown in its most simple form, various components and aspects of the device may be differently shaped or slightly modified when forming the invention herein. As such those skilled in the art will appreciate the descriptions and depictions set forth in this disclosure or merely meant to portray examples of preferred modes within the overall scope and intent of the invention, and are not to be considered limiting in any manner. While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the invention have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that various substitutions, modifications, and variations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cloud network that allows stakeholders to monitor all autonomous operations as they occur in real time. The system also sends automated messages regarding deployment and recovery status and can also allow stakeholders to be directly involved by authorizing all operations in stages if preferred.

Another object of the invention is to provide emergency overrides. The system can be pre- programmed with rules that will force a deployment or recovery to be halted if any specific conditions are triggered. For example, if a UUV is being recovered and the digital imagery shows the payload listing at an angle beyond a pre-set reference, the system automatically aborts the mission and notifies authorized personnel.

It is briefly noted that upon a reading this disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize various means for carrying out these intended features of the invention. As such it is to be understood that other methods, applications and systems adapted to the task may be configured to carry out these features and are therefore considered to be within the scope and intent of the present invention, and are anticipated. With respect to the above description, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the herein disclosed invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangement of the components in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention herein described is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present disclosed device. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction and methodology insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. As used in the claims to describe the various inventive aspects and embodiments, "comprising" means including, but not limited to, whatever follows the word "comprising". Thus, use of the term "comprising" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present. By "consisting of" is meant including, and limited to, whatever follows the phrase "consisting of". Thus, the phrase "consisting of" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, and that no other elements may be present.

By "consisting essentially of" is meant including any elements listed after the phrase, and limited to other elements that do not interfere with or contribute to the activity or action specified in the disclosure for the listed elements. Thus, the phrase "consisting essentially of" indicates that the listed elements are required or mandatory, but that other elements are optional and may or may not be present depending upon whether or not they affect the activity or action of the listed elements. The objects features, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements described in this specification and hereinafter described in the following detailed description which fully discloses the invention, but should not be considered as placing limitations thereon. EXAMPLES

Artificial Intelligence for AUV recognition and guiding the control system works by using telemetry. Data from RGB camera and LIDAR is used to calculate the distance from the gripper to the markers on the retrievable object. A mathematical model has been created for recognition of the markers and calculating the axis of the test object. Al uses WinForms C#/.NET program and ONNX Runtime detection. Pytorch is used for training the Al with example data of markers and movement of the test object.

The gripper or an intelligent robotic gripper is based on low-magnetic design and tension control to prevent damage. A gripper system consists of a typical crane with four degrees of freedom, equipped with a link with free rotation in two axes and driven rotation around its axis at the end and a frame with two typical grips designed for grasping objects of cylindrical shape. The frame is equipped with floodlights, UV lights, RGB and LIDAR camera that allow for real-time object positioning.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In this description, the directional prepositions of up, upwardly, down, downwardly, front, back, top, upper, bottom, lower, left, right and other such terms refer to the device as it is oriented and appears in the drawings and are used for convenience only; they are not intended to be limiting or to imply that the device has to be used or positioned in any particular orientation. Conventional components of the invention are elements that are well-known in the prior art and will not be discussed in detail for this disclosure.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of launch and recovery system (LARS) system. A vessel 110 is floating freely on a choppy water surface 100. A crane 120 is mounted on the vessel 110. A gripper 130 is attached to the crane 120. A marine vehicle 140 floating on a choppy water surface 100 is launched or recovered from the choppy water surface 100 by the gripper 130. An artificial intelligence-based control system 150 may be used to control the LARS.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of method of launching and recovering a marine vehicle from a choppy water surface.

FIG. 3 illustrates the steps of the method 300 of recovering a marine vehicle from a choppy water surface. At step 302, a zero location coordinates of the marine vehicle floating on the choppy water surface are determined and a change of location coordinates of the marine vehicle in relation to the determined zero location in real time are continuously monitored. At step 304 a gripper is moved to a predetermined distance from the marine vehicle. At step 306, a position of the gripper at the predetermined distance is controlled by continuously changing the position of the gripper according to the monitored change of the location coordinates of the marine vehicle. At step 308, an angle of a central axis of the marine vehicle in the horizontal plane is defined during the change in the location coordinates of the marine vehicle. At step 310, a moment of grabbing the marine vehicle is calculated. At step 312, the marine vehicle is recovered from the choppy water surface at the calculated moment with the gripper.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the autonomous launch and recovery system on a vessel. A perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the autonomous launch and recovery system on a vessel 3 hoisting UUV 2. The system being comprised of a conventional articulating crane 1 affixed with digital imaging systems including but not limited to standard optical, thermal imaging and the like. The system may also be outfitted with accelerometers that detect the grabbing mechanism's X, Y, and Z position at any time. Grabbing mechanisms can include a multitude of couplings including but not limited to: eye hooks, magnetics etc. Articulating cranes can include features such as conveyors, A-frames, pneumatic launchers, rotating beams with lifts, roller holds, side grabs, actuated clamps, cylinder grapples, and clamps with lifting chains etc.

FIG. 5 illustrates perspective view of the autonomous launch and recovery system tracking UUV 2 wherein its general location in the ocean is detected using a GPS tracking module and its position in space (three dimensions) is recognized by the digital imaging cameras with targeting feature 4 on UUV 2. Said imaging being controlled by Al wherein the images are compared to an existing digital library of UUV and AUV types and configurations that allow the system to instantly classify them and prepare the crane for recovery or deployment operations. During these operations the crane's drive motors are controlled by the system's Al and can be used to autonomously attach to a specific UUV and AUV safely and quickly. The system also uses the onboard imagery to sync the payload's movements with the crane's head while accounting for ship movement so that the load can be recovered quickly and safely from rough seas if needed.

FIG. 6 illustrates a representative view of the autonomous launch and recovery system's method having user functions that include but are not limited to: subscription levels (payments and features); configuration settings (initializing UUVs and AUVs, connecting to app and website, interface settings etc.); real time remote monitoring for stakeholders. Users and ship personnel can interact with the system via desktop computers, tablets and smart phones etc. The crane features having operations that include but are not limited to: pairing grabbers; streaming live optical and sensor data; and allowing for real time viewing of live images. The crane operations and users being connected by a cloud-based network that has operations that include but are not limited to: administrative functions (vessel information, subscriptions, stakeholder demographics, available payloads etc.); web portal (for remote control or viewing of any and all system operations based on permission hierarchy); initializations of both new and existing payloads into the system; Al algorithms (payload recognition, payload grappling configurations; sea conditions and syncing with crane movements etc.); block chain data storage with decentralized ledger wherein all stakeholders are kept apprised at all times; and automatic notifications (deployment and recovery status, delays and emergencies via text messaging, email SMS and the like). Modifications to embodiments of the present disclosure described in the foregoing are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the accompanying claims. Expressions such as "including", "comprising", "incorporating", "have", "is" used to describe and claim the present disclosure are intended to be construed in a non- exclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitly described also to be present.