The University of Rhode Island will receive $433,386 under a three-year Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation to advance fundamental research in robotics for complex underwater environments. Specifically, the university will design, fabricate, and test a highly maneuverable underwater robot capable of tight maneuvers like turning in place, hovering, and vertical descent. Researchers will also develop a novel adaptive neural network control scheme to enable precise trajectory tracking under dynamic conditions and an improved terrain reconstruction algorithm for sonars to overcome elevation ambiguity. The project aims to increase the functionality and reliability of underwater robots through contributions to robot design, control systems, and perception. It is supported by the NSF's Cross-Directorate Foundational Research in Robotics Program under the federal Engineering grant program (CFDA 47.041).
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