Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SHEREC (SAFE, HEALTHY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SHIP RECYCLING)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
SHEREC' primary aim is to facilitate the integration and adoption of cutting-edge robotics, data, and AI systems within the ship recycling industry. This will significantly improve the occupational health and safety conditions in this industry and to prevent contamination of hazardous materials both at occupational and environmental levels. The following objectives will be pursued in the SHEREC project to increase labor safety and make positive environmental impact:
Objective 1: To semi-automate the preparation process in ship recycling using an AI-powered drone. A custom-designed aerial robot will be prototyped to navigate inside the ship without compromising safety, and to operate in GPS-denied situations by overcoming the degradation of the robot’s vision in a cluttered environment. The drone will also be equipped with chemical sensors to measure toxic gases. The drone will inspect the interior of the ship to verify, locate and label hazardous materials based on the ship’s inventory of hazardous material. Automating the preparation process, which is currently carried out manually by experts wearing personal protective equipment, will increase safety by removing workers from the hazardous environment. The information gathered will also play a crucial role in creating an accurate and automated ship recycling plan.
Objective 2: To create an automated ship recycling plan using a digital twin of the ship and AI-based planning methods. A digital twin of the ship will be created using the ship’s design documents and the information gathered by the drone. AI-based automated-planning algorithms will be developed to be run on the digital twin to generate a cutting plan of the ship using the virtual model. The developed algorithms will be trained with using examples from the past works to predict the mass/inertial properties of the parts/blocks to be cut.
Objective 3: To semi-automate the cutting and paint removal processes in ship recycling process using two innovative mobile robotic systems that can work autonomously or via tele-operation: (1) a mobile robot with magnetic tracks that can navigate on the ship hull without external support, and (2) a mobile manipulator that can navigate inside the ship. The magnetic mobile robot will remove the paint while collecting the slag with vacuum, and then cut the hull using replaceable end effectors. The mobile manipulator will cut the ship structure from inside navigating through the complex environment. Both robots will increase labor safety by distancing the worker from the dangerous workplace, and will use environmentally friendly techniques to decrease and monitor release of harmful by-products.
The two main results of the SHEREC project which are:
1. Successful demonstrators, including prototypes of an aerial drone, mobile robotic manipulator, and mobile robotic crawler.
2. Three algorithmic models including novel AI algorithms.
The expected outcomes based on these two results are described below:
• Significant improvement of working conditions. The first outcome of using SHEREC’s cutting-edge technology in dangerous ship recycling activities is the demonstration of the added value of this robotics technology on the human working conditions in ship recycling sector.
• Significant improvement of the occupational and natural environment. The second outcome is to demonstrate that the ship recycling environment, residents and labours nearby the ship recycling yard where the pilot study is conducted are prevented from the release of toxic gases and liquids.
• Product development agreements for safe, robust and trustworthy AI, Data, and Robotics technologies by tech providers. To take part in additional commercialization operations to promote the solutions, the consortium partners will enter into commercial collaboration or licensing agreements.
• Uptake of AI, Data and Robotics related technologies by end users. Considering the benefit of the technologies to be developed throughout the project, end-users will begin to integrate and implement the whole of the developed technologies and systems providing improvements on more accurate and reliable processes.
Human-centred approaches in the project will be guaranteed by the experts from NTNU, and the non-governmental organization for sustainable ship recycling (NSBP) will manage the communication activities with public and stakeholders.
Objective 1: To semi-automate the preparation process in ship recycling using an AI-powered drone. A custom-designed aerial robot will be prototyped to navigate inside the ship without compromising safety, and to operate in GPS-denied situations by overcoming the degradation of the robot’s vision in a cluttered environment. The drone will also be equipped with chemical sensors to measure toxic gases. The drone will inspect the interior of the ship to verify, locate and label hazardous materials based on the ship’s inventory of hazardous material. Automating the preparation process, which is currently carried out manually by experts wearing personal protective equipment, will increase safety by removing workers from the hazardous environment. The information gathered will also play a crucial role in creating an accurate and automated ship recycling plan.
Objective 2: To create an automated ship recycling plan using a digital twin of the ship and AI-based planning methods. A digital twin of the ship will be created using the ship’s design documents and the information gathered by the drone. AI-based automated-planning algorithms will be developed to be run on the digital twin to generate a cutting plan of the ship using the virtual model. The developed algorithms will be trained with using examples from the past works to predict the mass/inertial properties of the parts/blocks to be cut.
Objective 3: To semi-automate the cutting and paint removal processes in ship recycling process using two innovative mobile robotic systems that can work autonomously or via tele-operation: (1) a mobile robot with magnetic tracks that can navigate on the ship hull without external support, and (2) a mobile manipulator that can navigate inside the ship. The magnetic mobile robot will remove the paint while collecting the slag with vacuum, and then cut the hull using replaceable end effectors. The mobile manipulator will cut the ship structure from inside navigating through the complex environment. Both robots will increase labor safety by distancing the worker from the dangerous workplace, and will use environmentally friendly techniques to decrease and monitor release of harmful by-products.
The two main results of the SHEREC project which are:
1. Successful demonstrators, including prototypes of an aerial drone, mobile robotic manipulator, and mobile robotic crawler.
2. Three algorithmic models including novel AI algorithms.
The expected outcomes based on these two results are described below:
• Significant improvement of working conditions. The first outcome of using SHEREC’s cutting-edge technology in dangerous ship recycling activities is the demonstration of the added value of this robotics technology on the human working conditions in ship recycling sector.
• Significant improvement of the occupational and natural environment. The second outcome is to demonstrate that the ship recycling environment, residents and labours nearby the ship recycling yard where the pilot study is conducted are prevented from the release of toxic gases and liquids.
• Product development agreements for safe, robust and trustworthy AI, Data, and Robotics technologies by tech providers. To take part in additional commercialization operations to promote the solutions, the consortium partners will enter into commercial collaboration or licensing agreements.
• Uptake of AI, Data and Robotics related technologies by end users. Considering the benefit of the technologies to be developed throughout the project, end-users will begin to integrate and implement the whole of the developed technologies and systems providing improvements on more accurate and reliable processes.
Human-centred approaches in the project will be guaranteed by the experts from NTNU, and the non-governmental organization for sustainable ship recycling (NSBP) will manage the communication activities with public and stakeholders.
Progress towards to objective 1: To achieve the objective of semi-automating the preparation process in ship recycling using an AI-powered drone, the aim for this period was to progress in research and development of state-of-the-art and innovative techniques, and laying the necessary groundwork in WP2. This included initiating a drone prototype with sensors fit for the task, while considering the project's constraints; conducting research on semi-autonomous approaches and safe navigation algorithms, and initiating development; exploring state-of-the-art Simultaneous Location and Mapping (SLAM) algorithms using different sensors and assess their suitability for the task; exploring visual object recognition algorithms, measuring their computational burden and feasibility; initiating development of semantic SLAM algorithms to produce a more informed map.
Progress towards to objective 2: To achieve the objective of creating an automated ship recycling plan using a digital twin of the ship and AI-based planning methods, the aim for the period covered by this report was to understand the vessel's structural complexity and the impact of hazardous materials on autonomous SRP under demolition. This includes conceptualizing initial solutions within each task force and verifying the feasibility of the technology. During this period, WP6 aimed to investigate methods for developing hazmat 3D instance segmentation, utilizing sensors and drone technology to detect hazmat, converting 2D hazmat documents into 3D representations, and developing a digital twin infrastructure that integrates hazmat data. Additionally, WP6 focused on creating optimized cutting plans using AI algorithms and providing guidelines for generating ship recycling plans.
Progress towards to objective 3: To achieve the objective of semi-automating the cutting and paint removal processes in ship recycling process using two innovative mobile robotic systems that can work autonomously or via tele-operation, the essential aims for the period covered by this report were processing the key adaptation aspects and developing an overall robotic concept for the internal cutting, establishment of a cutting process framework with the main dependent partners, and optimization of the crawler mobile robot in WP4 to comply with the requirements of the project, hereunder optimizing the lifting capabilities, reducing cost and improving robot driving performance or versatility.
Progress towards to objective 2: To achieve the objective of creating an automated ship recycling plan using a digital twin of the ship and AI-based planning methods, the aim for the period covered by this report was to understand the vessel's structural complexity and the impact of hazardous materials on autonomous SRP under demolition. This includes conceptualizing initial solutions within each task force and verifying the feasibility of the technology. During this period, WP6 aimed to investigate methods for developing hazmat 3D instance segmentation, utilizing sensors and drone technology to detect hazmat, converting 2D hazmat documents into 3D representations, and developing a digital twin infrastructure that integrates hazmat data. Additionally, WP6 focused on creating optimized cutting plans using AI algorithms and providing guidelines for generating ship recycling plans.
Progress towards to objective 3: To achieve the objective of semi-automating the cutting and paint removal processes in ship recycling process using two innovative mobile robotic systems that can work autonomously or via tele-operation, the essential aims for the period covered by this report were processing the key adaptation aspects and developing an overall robotic concept for the internal cutting, establishment of a cutting process framework with the main dependent partners, and optimization of the crawler mobile robot in WP4 to comply with the requirements of the project, hereunder optimizing the lifting capabilities, reducing cost and improving robot driving performance or versatility.