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US 11,147,251 B1Granted
Nature-inspired design and engineering of autonomous seafood capturing, sorting and delivering system
OwnerLillian R Fu, Eric R Fuinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Presented is a system and method via nature-inspired design and engineering to autonomously fish, sort and deliver the catch. It implements rope-less fishing via a novel variable buoyancy device and an autonomous aerial and underwater vehicle as a fishing gear carrier. Its versatile capabilities are comprised of the AI sorting capability to comply with regulations, the capability to capture renewable energy to reduce operating costs, the capability to both passively fish with bait and proactively hunt for fish and the capability to gather intelligence to find optimal fishing grounds.
Claims17
An autonomous seafood capturing, sorting, and delivering system comprising:
- one or more submersible structures, wherein each of said one or more submersible structures further comprising:
- (a) a trap for capturing seafood within a cage, said cage has a volume contained therein;
- (b) said cage has an outer frame, a net wrapped around said frame, a door, a long rod, and a door locker with a locking rod, where said door locker is attached to said cage and positioned by said door so said locking rod of the door locker can be extended out to prevent said door from opening, where said long rod is attached to a bottom of said door and prevents said door from opening from inside said cage;
- (c) said cage has a water-tight AI controller with one or more lights and two or more cameras;
- (d) said cage has a bait container;
- (e) said cage has a variable buoyancy device;
- and
- (f) said cage has an underwater acoustic modem;
- wherein, said AI controller is capable of sorting the seafood pursuant to a categorization of a seafood visitor, including its size and its sex if applicable pursuant to regulations;
- wherein, once said seafood visitor gets into the cage, the acoustic modem communicates with one or more modules on a surface of the water in a predefined way;
- wherein, information of what seafood is caught inside said cage is also sent out via the acoustic modem, and the information will enable a receiver module of said one or more modules which receives the information from various traps to determine which fishing spot has higher concentrations of targeted seafood;
- wherein, the variable buoyancy device is activated to release substances contained inside of the variable buoyancy device, after receiving a command to surface or when a battery level is below a predefined threshold;
- and
- wherein said one or more submersible structures are autonomous, each of said one or more autonomous submersible structures has a spear and a speargun for launching said spear into a fish to catch said fish;
- wherein after catching said fish, a motor is activated to rewind a reel to pull said fish towards said each of said one or more autonomous submersible structures;
- wherein thereafter, said each of said one or more autonomous submersible structures will surface while carrying said fish and dock to an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing and then transport said each of said one or more submersible structures to a destination.
13 more elements
An autonomous seafood capturing, sorting, and delivering system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing, which docks with one or more submersible structures;
- said unmanned aerial vehicle has a body comprising:
- a left wing and a right wing, which are both connected to said body, and a left tilt rotor that is connected to the left wing and a right tilt rotor that is connected to the right wing and a rear tilt rotor that is connected to a rear of said body, said left wing and right wing have one or more holes at wing tips thereof and a left aileron and a right aileron are respectively positioned on said left and right wings, a mini robotic arm which is connected to a bottom of said body, a left vertical stabilizer having a left rudder, a right vertical stabilizer having a right rudder, a horizontal stabilizer having an elevator, and wherein all three of said stabilizers are attached to the rear of said unmanned aerial vehicle;
- said one or more submersible structures is comprised of:
- a trap for capturing seafood within a cage, said cage has a volume contained therein;
- said cage has an outer frame, a net wrapped around said frame, a door, a long rod, and a door locker with a locking rod and said long rod connects to said door to engage with said locking rod of said door locker;
- said cage has a water-tight AI controller with one or more lights and two or more cameras;
- said cage has a bait container;
- said cage has a variable buoyancy device;
- and said cage has an underwater acoustic modem;
- wherein, said unmanned aerial vehicle records location information such as the GPS coordinates of said trap drop location, so that the location information can be used to find and retrieve said trap;
- wherein, said AI controller is capable of sorting the seafood pursuant to a categorization of a seafood visitor, including its size and its sex if applicable pursuant to regulations;
- wherein, once said seafood visitor gets into the cage, the acoustic modem communicates with one or more modules on a water surface in a predefined way;
- wherein, information of what seafood is caught inside said cage is also sent out via the acoustic modem, and the information will enable a receiver module of the one or more modules which receives the information from various traps to determine which fishing spot has higher concentrations of targeted seafood;
- wherein, after landing at the water surface, the unmanned aerial vehicle can find and communicate with said traps also equipped with acoustic modems;
- and
- wherein, after said trap reports a number of catches inside, it can be commanded to surface.
14 more elements
An autonomous seafood capturing, sorting, and delivering system comprising:
- one or more submersible structures, wherein each of said one or more submersible structures further comprising:
- (a) a trap for capturing seafood within a cage, said cage has a volume contained therein;
- (b) said cage has an outer frame, a net wrapped around said frame, a door, a long rod, and a door locker with a locking rod, where said door locker is attached to said cage and positioned by said door so said locking rod of the door locker can be extended out to prevent said door from opening, where said long rod is attached to a bottom of said door and prevents said door from opening from inside said cage;
- (c) said cage has a water-tight AI controller with one or more lights and two or more cameras;
- (d) said cage has a bait container;
- (e) said cage has a variable buoyancy device;
- and
- (f) said cage has an underwater acoustic modem;
- wherein, said AI controller is capable of sorting the seafood pursuant to a categorization of a seafood visitor, including its size and its sex if applicable pursuant to regulations;
- wherein, once said seafood visitor gets into the cage, the acoustic modem communicates with one or more modules on a surface of the water in a predefined way;
- wherein, information of what seafood is caught inside said cage is also sent out via the acoustic modem, and the information will enable a receiver module of said one or more modules which receives the information from various traps to determine which fishing spot has higher concentrations of targeted seafood;
- wherein, the variable buoyancy device is activated to release substances contained inside of the variable buoyancy device, after receiving a command to surface or when a battery level is below a predefined threshold;
- further comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of going underwater to pick up said trap off a bottom of a sea floor, wherein said unmanned aerial vehicle has a body comprising:
- a left wing and a right wing, which are both connected to said body, and a left tilt rotor that is connected to the left wing and a right tilt rotor that is connected to the right wing and a rear tilt rotor that is connected to a rear of said body, said left wing and right wing have one or more holes at wing tips thereof and a left aileron and a right aileron respectively positioned on said left and right wings, a mini robotic arm which is connected to a bottom of said body, a left vertical stabilizer having a left rudder, a right vertical stabilizer having a right rudder, and a horizontal stabilizer having an elevator, wherein all of said stabilizers are attached to the rear of said body;
- and
- wherein when said unmanned aerial vehicle submerges, water enters through said one or more holes at said wing tips of said right and left wings therefore eliminating the need to have a strong water-tight vehicle body that can withstand high pressures at a sea floor;
- and wherein when said unmanned aerial vehicle surfaces, water exits from said one or more holes at said wing tips due to gravity and said unmanned aerial vehicle can further roll to the left and to the right to get rid of the remaining water onboard as said unmanned aerial vehicle takes off.
14 more elements
An autonomous seafood capturing, sorting, and delivering system comprising:
- one or more submersible structures, wherein each of said one or more submersible structures further comprising:
- (a) a trap for capturing seafood within a cage, said cage has a volume contained therein;
- (b) said cage has an outer frame, a net wrapped around said frame, a door, a long rod, and a door locker with a locking rod, where said door locker is attached to said age and positioned by said door so said locking rod of the door locker can be extended out to prevent said door from opening, where said long rod is attached to a bottom of said door and prevents said door from opening from inside said cage;
- (c) said cage has a water-tight AI controller with one or more lights and two or more cameras;
- (d) said cage has a bait container;
- (e) said cage has a variable buoyancy device;
- and
- (f) said cage has an underwater acoustic modem;
- wherein, said AI controller is capable of sorting the seafood pursuant to a categorization of a seafood visitor, including its size and its sex if applicable pursuant to regulations;
- wherein, once said seafood visitor gets into the cage, the acoustic modem communicates with one or more modules on a water surface in a predefined way, wherein, information of what seafood is caught inside said cage is also sent out via the acoustic modem, and the information will enable a receiver module of said one or more modules which receives the information from various traps to determine which fishing spot has higher concentrations of targeted seafood;
- wherein, the variable buoyancy device is activated to release substances contained inside of the variable buoyancy device, after receiving a command to surface or when a battery level is below a predefined threshold,
- wherein said one or more submersible structures are autonomous, each of said one or more submersible structures comprises an autonomous underwater vehicle having a docking station for connecting to said cage;
- and
- further comprising an autonomous surface vehicle in the form of a geometry-stabilized catamaran, comprising:
- a solar panel as a top platform of the catamaran that is connected to a left hull and a right hull, wherein said left hull has a left propeller and said right hull has a right propeller, an acoustic modem that is attached to one or more of said left and right hulls that are positioned in the water, a charging pole that is connected to said top platform, a longer antenna that is attached to said top platform for longer wave long-range radio communication and a shorter antenna attached to said top platform for short-range radio communication, a reel with a ring attached to one end of a thread and a motor to rewind the reel,
- wherein a left docking and charging receptacle is connected and positioned on an underside of said platform and a right docking and charging receptacle is connected and positioned on the underside of said platform for connecting and docking to said autonomous underwater vehicle having cameras for docking control.
13 more elements
An autonomous seafood capturing, sorting, and delivering system comprising:
- one or more submersible structures, wherein each of said one or more submersible structures further comprising:
- (a) a trap for capturing seafood within a cage, said cage has a volume contained therein;
- (b) said cage has an outer frame, a net wrapped around said frame, a door, a long rod, and a door locker with a locking rod, where said door locker is attached to said cage and positioned by said door so said locking rod of the door locker can be extended out to prevent said door from opening, where said long rod is attached to a bottom of said door and prevents said door from opening from inside said cage;
- (c) said cage has a water-tight AI controller with one or more lights and two or more cameras;
- (d) said cage has a bait container;
- (e) said cage has a variable buoyancy device;
- and
- (f) said cage has an underwater acoustic modem;
- wherein, said AI controller is capable of sorting the seafood pursuant to a categorization of a seafood visitor, including its size and its sex if applicable pursuant to regulations;
- wherein, once said seafood visitor gets into the cage, the acoustic modem communicates with one or more modules on a water surface in a predefined way;
- wherein, information of what seafood is caught inside said cage is also sent out via the acoustic modem, and the information will enable a receiver module of said one or more modules which receives the information from various traps to determine which fishing spot has higher concentrations of targeted seafood;
- wherein, the variable buoyancy device is activated to release substances contained inside of the variable buoyancy device, after receiving a command to surface or when a battery level is below a predefined threshold;
- wherein said one or more submersible structures are autonomous, each of said one or more submersible structures comprises an autonomous underwater vehicle having a docking station for connecting to said cage;
- wherein during a docking process, said autonomous underwater vehicle have one or more propellers that provide lateral movement as needed, and said one or more propellers provide up and down movement in vertical mode and back and forth movement in horizontal mode;
- wherein during the docking process, said autonomous underwater vehicle has one or more cameras to provide various visual feedback to said AI controller to control a docking approach;
- wherein after said autonomous underwater vehicle gets into the right position, said AI controller has means to push rods of said autonomous underwater vehicle inwards to catch said cage;
- wherein said autonomous underwater vehicle has said one or more propellers that tilt into the vertical mode to bring the trap up to the water surface;
- wherein after the trap is brought up to the water surface, an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing can dock with said autonomous underwater vehicle and then transport said autonomous underwater vehicle to a destination;
- and
- wherein said unmanned aerial vehicle has a body comprising:
- a left wing and a right wing, which are both connected to said body, and a left tilt rotor that is connected to the left wing and a right tilt rotor that is connected to the right wing and a rear tilt rotor that is connected to a rear of said body, said left wing and right wing have one or more holes at wing tips thereof and a left aileron and a right aileron respectively positioned on said left and right wings, a mini robotic arm which is connected to a bottom of said body, a left vertical stabilizer having a left rudder, a right vertical stabilizer having a right rudder, a horizontal stabilizer having an elevator, and wherein all three of said stabilizers are attached to the rear of said body.
18 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.