Apparatus for retrieving deep-sea nodules
AssigneeImpossible Metals Inc.
InventorsOliver Gunasekara, Jason Gillham
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A deep-sea mining apparatus for retrieving deep-sea nodules is provided. The deep-sea mining apparatus includes a buoyancy system, a payload hopper, an underwater autonomous vehicle (UAV), and a collector system. The collector system includes a controller system and a perception system communicatively coupled to the controller system and configured to track the deep-sea mining system as the deep-sea mining system hovers over ore nodules laying on a seabed. The collector system further includes one or more robotic arms controlled via the controller system, wherein each of the one or more robotic arms is attached to a bottom surface of the UAV and is equipped with a grasping mechanism configured to pick up the ore nodules from the seabed.
Claims19
A collector system of a deep-sea mining apparatus for harvesting ore nodules, the collector system comprising:
- a controller system;
- a perception system communicatively coupled to the controller system configured to provide input data to the controller system from one or more cameras;
- and
- one or more robotic arms controlled via the controller system, wherein each of the one or more robotic arms is fitted with an end effector configured to collect one ore nodule at a time from a seabed, and wherein the perception system is configured to use computer vision segmentation and stereoscopic localization processes that account for refraction through air/glass and glass/water interfaces to identify ore nodules on the seabed based on whether macro fauna is present on the ore nodules so that the one or more robotic arms harvest ore nodules without macro fauna thereon.
A deep-sea mining apparatus for harvesting ore nodules, comprising:
- a buoyancy system;
- a payload hopper;
- an underwater autonomous vehicle (UAV);
- and
- a collector system comprising:
- a controller system;
- a perception system communicatively coupled to the controller system and configured to use computer vision segmentation and stereoscopic localization processes that account for refraction through air/glass and glass/water interfaces to track motion and identify nodules with macro fauna thereon for selective harvesting of ore nodules lying on a seabed;
- and
- one or more robotic arms controlled via the controller system, wherein each of the one or more robotic arms is attached to a bottom surface of the UAV and is equipped with a grasping mechanism configured to pick up ore nodules without macro fauna from the seabed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.