Multi-vehicle swarm behaviours for monitoring of rapidly evolving ocean phenomena

Rapid response and measurement of transient ocean events such as harmful algae blooms or oil spills is still an aspiration with Marine Autonomous Systems. This project will address the technological challenges inherent in coordinating a multi-vehicle swarm to determine the extent and evolution of these phenomena.
Swarm behaviours for autonomous vehicles operations have been widely considered in the air and land domains. However operation of swarms in a maritime context presents significant additional challenges. The areas of operation are potentially vast, the environment is dynamic with currents that may exceed the sprint speed of the vehicles, satellite communication is expensive, underwater communication is severely restricted and detailed on-board processing is typically avoided due to complexity and the limited on-board computational power.
However multi-vehicle operations such as MASSMO [1] are repeatedly highlighting the value of utilizing multiple vehicles in the field to enhance our temporal and spatial understanding of transient ocean events. This project will focus on embedding enhanced intelligence and behaviours on-board low cost, readily deployed platforms, to enable swarm operation without the requirement for onshore piloting or control.