[Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this call for papers]
Dear all,
This is a reminder for the Special Issue for the journal Applied Sciences (
www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Robotic_Sailing_Support_Technologies).
The topic of the Special issue is "Robotic sailing and support
technologies". The Special Issue will fit in the journal's Computer and
Artificial Intelligence section. Applied Sciences is a journal with a
Web of Science JCR impact factor of 2.474 (more information in
www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci).
We include next an outline of the topics and focus of the Special Issue.
Environmental
monitoring of certain aquatic environments, from littoral to extensive
Marine Protected Areas in high seas, is still mainly done with manned
vessels or moored buoys or sensing platforms. The development and
implementation of legal commitments on aquatic environments under
governmental jurisdiction is often limited or even impeded by factors as
the extension of these areas, difficult weather conditions, and
–finally – the cost of the human and technical means required.
Autonomous
vessels, and in particular sailing robots, may reduce the cost of ocean
data acquisition as platforms for collecting all kind of information,
from meteorological and oceanographic data, to ecological and
environmental information. Other applications of great interest for
those monitoring platforms are marine traffic and pollution control,
security, surveillance and rescue, to name a few.
Autonomous
sailing vessels constitute an ideal platform for data acquisition in
water natural environments. Moreover, being wind-propelled, they offer a
potential for long term operation in the ocean, given the considerable
reduction of power consumption they need for navigation. In addition,
this reduced energy demand makes them especially suited for being full
solar-powered.
An ideal requirement for autonomous sailing
vessels is to be able to perform adequately in “under-control” operating
conditions, for extended periods of time in very demanding and changing
environments. Consequently, long term autonomy poses a fundamental
problem in autonomous sailing as in many areas of research in robotics.
This requirement obviously demands robust and seafaring boat designs,
which can withstand rough oceanic conditions, but also dynamic path and
route planning capacities on-board, to adapt to changing sea, wind and
weather conditions. Furthermore, long term autonomy requires the vessel
to be self-conscious of its operating conditions and performance, aside
from an infrastructure for remote monitoring and control.
This
Special Issue is centered in robotic sailing and support technologies,
and invites to submit research articles in the following topics:
- Naval architecture of autonomous vessels: new designs and advanced materials.
- Modelling, simulation, control and stability analysis.
- Sensors and actuators for autonomous sailboats.
- Embedded control and system architectures for autonomous sailing.
- Collision avoidance, boat-to-boat communication.
- Route planning, navigation and optimization.
- Machine learning and self-tuning control algorithms for autonomous sailboats.
- Long term autonomy in robotic sailing.
- Energy and power management.
- Field applications of autonomous sailing robots.
- Robotic boats in teaching and education.
- Legal issues for autonomous vessels.
Keywords:
robotic sailing, long term autonomy, route planning and navigation,
embedded systems, sensors and actuators, collision avoidance
You can find more information in Applied Science's web page at:
The deadline for this Special Issue is November 30th 2020.
We hope you can find this interesting for publishing your work in the area.
Best regards
----
Antonio C. Domínguez-Brito (antonio.dominguez[at]
ulpgc.esColin Sauze (cos[at]
aber.ac.uk)
José Carlos Alves (jca[at]
fe.up.pt)