Web-Crawler: A Paired Robotic System for Cleaning Offshore Aquaculture Nets

Scientific Fishery Systems, Inc. (SciFish) proposes the development of a paired robotic Web-Crawler system for automatically cleaning offshore aquaculture nets. The Web-Crawler concept places paired wheeled robotic vehicles on either side of the cage, connected by magnets. Only one of the two vehicles will be powered, the other will be passive and be pulled along by its active partner. The vehicle will follow a predetermined path defined by a wire wove into the net. It is our initial hypothesis that the repeated movement over the net will be sufficient to eliminate biofouling. However, if necessary, water jets can be added to the system to provide additional cleaning capability. Power delivery to the vehicle will be provided to the vehicle on the outside of the pen. Phase I will address specific design issues such as sizing, coverage rates, power, and reliability