Autonomous Dead Zone Boat | MichEpedia | Mconnex

Michigan Engineering did a video with a project I am helping with. Check it out!

Researchers at the University of Michigan are developing an autonomous unmanned vehicle attached with temperature sensors to define hypoxic or dissolved oxygen areas in Michigan's smaller lakes. Outputs of a coupled hydrodynamic and limnological model will be used to derive a preliminary and optimal sampling path for the boat. The path of the vehicle is then changed in real time to maximize the value of collected data. The project is being run by Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor Branko Kerkez with expectations of scaling up the size of the vessel to eventually take readings inside Lake Erie, an area with a history of hypoxic problems. About the Professor: Branko Kerkez wants to build the Internet of water, an intelligent cyber-physical system that connects natural water bodies with physical infrastructure. One main area of interest is the control and optimization of large-scale water systems, spanning everything from water supply (lakes, snowpack, reservoirs) to demand (agricultural and urban uses, hydropower production, decentralized operations of municipal water grids).

For more information, visit University of Michigan's website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bkerkez/