Robotics

MIT's Oystamaran robot could boost the oyster-farming industry

View 5 Images
The prototype Oystamaran robot approaches an oyster-farming bag
MIT MechE
A kayaker flips oyster-farming bags in the traditional fashion
John Freidah, MIT MechE
The Oystamaran not only has to spot and flip bags, but it also has to "wiggle" along between rows of them
Lauren Futami, MIT MechE
The present version of the Oystamaran is mainly remotely controlled, but an autonomous control system is in the works
John Freidah, MIT MechE
The prototype Oystamaran robot approaches an oyster-farming bag
MIT MechE
The Oystamaran's bag-flipping mechanism, doing what it does best
MIT MechE
View gallery - 5 images

There are several methods of oyster farming, one of which involves raising the molluscs in bags that float on the ocean's surface. Those heavy bags need to be frequently flipped over, so a team of MIT students has designed an "Oystamaran" robot to make the job easier.

Although they're described as bags, the oyster-raising cages are more like flat, square mesh pens with cylindrical floats on two opposite sides.

As the bags sit in the water, marine organisms such as barnacles and algae accumulate on their undersides. Flipping them over exposes those organisms to the sunlight and air, so they can be chipped off once they've dried out. Doing so keeps the organisms from accumulating to the point that they block water flow through the bags, which is essential to the oysters' survival.

A kayaker flips oyster-farming bags in the traditional fashion
John Freidah, MIT MechE

The MIT project began when marine biologist Dan Ward – who owns the Ward Aquafarms oyster-farming company in Cape Cod – told Prof. Michael Triantafyllou how the 2,000-plus bags at his farms have to be flipped about 11 times a year. Currently, the task is performed by workers in kayaks, who struggle to keep their balance while flipping bags that can weigh up to 70 lb (32 kg) once the oysters are mature.

Seeking a less labor-intensive alternative, a team of Triantafyllou's ocean engineering students set about developing a bag-flipping robot. Led by Michelle Kornberg (who has since graduated), they created the Oystamaran electric catamaran.

The device starts by straddling a bag between its pontoons. It then uses a hooked robotic arm to reach down and grasp the float on one side of the bag, after which it pulls that arm back up and to the other side, lifting and flipping the bag in the process.

The Oystamaran not only has to spot and flip bags, but it also has to "wiggle" along between rows of them
Lauren Futami, MIT MechE

Although the robot presently performs much of its work by real-time remote control, the students are working on making it fully autonomous. It will then use one forward-facing camera to initially identify and make its way over to each bag, after which it will use a downward-facing camera to align itself over the bag and perform the flip.

It is hoped that once developed further – perhaps by an industry partner – the technology could help oyster farmers to increase their output, while also fostering interest in the field of aquaculture robotics.

"Just by showing the way, this may be the first of a number of robots," says Triantafyllou. "It will attract talent to ocean farming, which is a great challenge, and also a benefit for society to have a reliable means of producing food from the ocean."

The Oystamaran can be seen in action, in the following video.

Source: MIT

View gallery - 5 images
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
3 comments
Username
Do we really need a faster way of depleting the oceans of oysters?
Intellcity
Not quite up there with the invention of the plow but a significant improvement. I can see modifying the cages slightly so they could be turned over continuously traveling down the line rather than one at a time. But that is just me being a retired automation engineer.
Nelson Hyde Chick
The way climate change is making the oceans more acidic, to acidic for oysters to form their shells, so another ten years this thing will be useless if not five. Go anthropocene!