Research Projects

Dams have played a very vital role throughout the history of civilization but failure of many dams causing damage to life and property has increased the awareness not only among Engineers, but also among the general public about safety of the dams. The name of the eleven dams are Hirakud, Derjang, Ghodahado, Bhanjanagar, Soroda, Alikuan, Jharranai, Ganianalla, Behera, Kansbahal and Kuanria. Hirakud Dam is one of the longest soil Dam situated in western part of Odisha. However, the dam was completed in 1953 and was formally inaugurated by on 13 January 1957. As the dams grow older the responsibility of the Engineers increases many fold. So, inspection and underwater study of the reservoir are required for the safety of dam. This is only possible with help of constant monitoring with the help of deployment of multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in formation, submerged inside the dam reservoir. Advances in robotic technology, computers, sensors and communications motivate development of more intelligent AUVs that will lead to safer, faster, and more efficient ways of exploring the ocean frontier in hazardous conditions. These missions call for the control of multiple AUVs acting in cooperation to execute a number of challenging tasks without close supervision of human operators. Owing to the complex dynamics coupled with uncertainties (due to unknown hydrodynamic effects and ocean currents), even the control of an individual autonomous vehicle poses a complex task and requires a suitably designed software and control systems. Adding to the ability to coordinate with other autonomous vehicles therefore is a much more difficult task. However, if the control and communication functions can be combined in a well-organized manner it will be easier to develop a simple test bed and further design and verification of efficient control algorithms.