AVP Quick Start Manual

8/6/2019 AVP Quick Start Manual

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AVP Quick Start Manual


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Contents

1. Introduction ..3

2. AVP Operations ..4I. Prepare the AVP .......4

a. Attach the fins to the AVP .4b. Fasten the rope to the AVP ...4

II. Set up the antenna and the base station .5

III. Connecting to AVP ..6

a. Turn ON AVP ...6b. Switch ON the RF Modem .6c. Starting The AGUI and establishing the connection .6

IV. AVP self test ..8a. BUILT IN TEST.8

b. SENSORS CHECK.8

V. Deploying the AVP 9

VI. Pre-Mission checks 10a. Depth at Location .10b. AVP and the Ship 10c. GPS LOCK.10d. Memory Space available 10

VII. Executing a mission ..12a. Specifying a Mission 12b. Executing the mission .12c. Test Dive ..13d. Surface Missions 13

VIII.

Post-Mission Tasks .14a. Mission Data .14b. Retrieving the AVP 14c. Washing the AVP 14

IX. Analyzing the Data .15

3. APPENDIX ..19


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IntroductionThe Autonomous Vertical Profiler (AVP) is a recent development of the Marine InstrumentationDivision at N.I.O., Goa. It belongs to the class of propelled robot vehicles that traverse the watercolumn vertically while sensing and storing water column properties. The profiler can beprogrammed to descend at varied speeds and hover at a defined depth set by the user. Afterloading a mission through the RF link, the AVP descends with the help of a DC motor driven thruster,reaching zero velocity at a desired depth layer above the sea bed. Being positively buoyant, itascends slowly to the sea surface without power on completion of the mission. After it breakssurface, the AVP automatically transmits its GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates via RF. Datais downloaded through the RF after every dive and can be viewed as plots on the GUI immediately.

Figure 1: Autonomous Vertical Profiler Cross-section

The purpose of this Quick Start Manual is to give you a brief overview of the procedures involved inoperating the profiler. The following instructions are to be carried out step-by-step, while operating

the AVP.


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AVP OperationsI. Prepare the AVP

The AVP comes in a custom made box. There are a few parts to be assembled on the AVP when it isremoved from this box:

a. Attach the fins to the AVPThe AVP comes with 4 fins which are detachable from the main hull of the vehicle. These finsare to be attached on the appendages provided on the hull as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Attaching the Fins to the Hull

b. Fasten the rope to the AVPThe AVP hull on one side is tied with a meter longrope. This rope ends with a small loop near the tailcone. The AVP will also be provided with a spool of rope and a spring clip. The rope on the spool alsohas a loop at its end. Attach the two ends, one onAVP and the other on the spool, with the springclip, as shown in Figure 3. This rope is used strictlyfor safety/retrieval purposes, and does not in anyway interfere with the operation of the AVP. Makesure that this rope is fastened properly to theAVP.

Figure 3: Attaching the two rope ends using theSpring Clip


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II. Set up the antenna and the base station

Fix the RF antenna high above on a nearby pole, using the clamps provided. Connect the RFantenna to the RF modem with the RF waveguide provided along with the antenna (Figure4). Connect the serial extension cable to the RF modem on the DB-9 connector, as shown inFigure 4. Connect the other end of the extension cable to the SERIAL to USB cable providedand connect the USB side of the cable to your computer/laptop.

Figure 4: Base-Station Connections


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III. Connecting to AVPa. Turn ON AVP

AVPs Power ON cable is located on its tail -cone. When AVP is OFF, this cable will have a dummyconnector, which basically does not perform any function. Replace this Dummy connector with

the Power ON switch to turn ON the AVP. The Power On switch provided is marked with a redtape. Now tape this cable to one of the tail cone stubs as shown in Figure 5, with the help of aninsulation tape.

Figure 5: Turning AVP ON

b. Switch ON the RF ModemNext turn ON the RF modem and wait for the AVP to get connected to the RF modem. You cansee that the connection has been established when the LEDs on the RF modem turn green.

c. Starting The AGUI and establishing the connectionWe can now start the computer/laptop and start the AGUI ( APPENDIX ). The AGUI HOME PAGEis shown in the figure below.

Figure 6: AGUI HOME PAGE


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In the AGUI click on CONNECTION STATUS in themenu bar, this will open the CONNECTION STATUSwindow (Figure 7) . Here choose the appropriateCOM port, depending upon where your USB cable isconnected on your PC ( APPENDIX ). The Baud rateby default is always 115200 baud, and should not bechanged. Click on CONNECT, and the GUI will getconnected to the AVP. The connection status isindicated by the LED named as AVP STATUS on the

HOME PAGE of the GUI (Figure 8) . Green or blinkingindicates the AVP is connected to the GUI. Static REDindicates that the connection has been lost.

Figure 7: Connection Status Window

Figure 8 AVP Connection Status Indicator


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IV. AVP self testBefore starting with any missions, the AVP must pass a few pre-mission checks. Once we getthe connection established, there are basically two steps of self checks to be carried out.

a. BUILT IN TESTThis test is basically to test the successfulworking of the thruster. Click on the

BUILT IN TEST button (Figure 9) providedon the HOME PAGE . If the command isnot acknowledged by the AVP then the GUI will give a Timeout . If a Timeout is receivedthen click on the button again. This command checks the working of the thruster atdifferent control voltages. Once this test is performed successfully the GUI will return amessage Built in test successful .

b.

SENSORS CHECKIn order to check the working of the sensors,click on the POWER ON button (Figure 10) .

This turns on the sensors and displays theirmeasured values in the correspondingfields provided in the home page. If any particular sensor is not connected or is notfunctioning properly, the LED corresponding to that sensor will turn red or will remainwhite. If the sensor is working properly then the corresponding LED on the GUI will turngreen and the respective fields will display its values. After performing this check alwaysmake sure that you TURN OFF the sensors.

Figure 9 Built In Test Button on AGUI HOME PAGE

Figure 10: Power ON Button on AGUI HOME PAGE


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V. Deploying the AVPThe AVP weighs just enough so that a single person can lift it up very easily. But for safe

execution we recommend at least 2 people should carry out the deployment. The AVP can

be lifted in any one of the following methods as shown in Figure 11.

The AVP should be slowly lowered in the water, if needed, withhelp of the rope fastened to its hull. Once lowered, the AVP willfloat vertically in the water, so that the entire hull including the

thruster is submerged in water and only the RF antenna stub & theGPS stub are above water as shown in the Figure 12. Make surethat you remove all the air present in the nose cone and the tailcone by tilting the AVP.

Figure 11: How to hold AVP

Figure 12: AVP floating in water


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VI. Pre-Mission checksa. Depth at Location

The MISSION EDITOR in the AVP GUI lets you configure the Thruster Control Voltage and the Depth that the AVP should dive to. So when you are specifying the depth of the

mission you should always know the total depth underwater, so that the mission depthis always less than the total depth.

b. AVP and the ShipWhen deploying from a ship or a boat, you should always make sure that the shipsengine is declutched or turned off whenever operating the AVP. Also before executing amission, make sure that the AVP is far enough from the ship so that it does not affect theAVP mission in any way. One of the problems encountered during the operations is thatthe AVP rises below the ship while coming back on the surface after the dive.

c. GPS LOCKOnce the AVP is powered ON by connecting theunderwater POWER ON switch, the GPS connected tothe AVP starts searching for satellites, in order to get aGPS fix. It might take some time (up to 10min) for gettinga GPS lock. Once the AVP gets the GPS lock, the LED onthe GUI in the GPS section, turns green, and the

corresponding fields display the absolute Latitude andLongitude of the AVP, as shown in Figure 13. Always wait

until you get this fix before any mission is executed.

d. Memory Space availableThe Profiler during its missions stores the data collected on its onboard memory card.The total memory space available is 500MB. Over a period of time, after many missions,this space will go on decreasing, as data is being accumulated on it of the previousmissions. So before beginning any mission, it is a good practice to check the availablespace on the memory card. The Data field on the AGUI HOME PAGE (Figure14) shows how much space has been

utilized out of 500MB. If you would liketo clear the memory space, then click onthe ANALYZE DATA tab in the menu bar to open the ANALYZE DATA window. Here onthe bottom-left corner is the ERASE MEMORY button as shown in the following Figure15Figure 15. Click on this button to erase the onboard memory.

Figure 14: Onboard Memory Status

Figure 13: GPS Status


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Figure 15: ERASE MEMORY


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VII. Executing a mission

a. Specifying a MissionA mission can be assigned in the MISSIONEDITOR window (Figure 16) , which openswhen you click on MISSION EDITOR tab inthe menu bar. The mission can be specifiedby specifying the Depth at which the AVP issuppose to dive to and the thrust withwhich the AVP should dive with. The thrusthere is a function of a parameter called the

Control Voltage. The maximum controlvoltage that can be specified is 4.5V and the

minimum is 0V. The AVP is not able to dive underwater if a control voltage lies between 0-1.5V.After deciding and selecting the Depth and the Control Voltage the MISSION EDITOR windowdisplays the approximate time it would take for the AVP for the specified mission. Now click onthe LOAD MISSION button, and click Yes on the prompt which gives the summary of the specifiedmission. If the mission is loaded then the GUI will give a prompt which says Mission Loaded . If not then the GUI will give a Timeout . In such cases, specify and load the mission again. Once themission is successfully loaded, you can now return back to the HOME PAGE .

b. Executing the missionAfter a mission has been loaded through the mission editor, you can now click on the STARTMISSION button on the HOME PAGE . Once you give the START MISSION command, the AVP firsttakes 30 seconds for pre-mission initializations. After 30 seconds the AVP dives underwater.Unroll the rope on the spool and give enough slack to the AVP so that it carries out its missionwithout any disturbances form the rope. The AVP propels vertically downwards to reach itsprogrammed depth. During this time the AVP records the sensor data and stores it in its memory.Once the AVP reaches its programmed depth, it shuts off the thruster and starts coming back ontop due to its positive buoyancy. These different phases of a mission are indicated on the AGUIHOME PAGE , in the MISSION STATUS section, as shown in the following Figure 17.

Figure 17: Steps involved in a executing a Mission

Figure 16: Mission Editor Window


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Once the AVP is at the surface after the dive, it may take a few seconds for the connection to re-establish with the GUI. After the connection is established, we can check out the depth to which theAVP dived in the MAX DEPTH field on the AGUI HOME PAGE , as shown in Figure 18. Also anyproblems encountered or important messages are displayed in STATUS AFTER DIVE section, asshown in Figure 18.

Figure 18: Dive Status

c. Test DiveThe AVP during its dive tends to overshoot its specified depth slightly. Therefore we have tocompensate for this overshoot while specifying the missions. Hence we should always first give atest dive of around 5 meters, and check the depth attained by the AVP. This will tell us theovershoot the AVP takes at that particular control voltage. So accordingly we can now select themission depth so that the resulting achieved depth is always less than the total depth of thewater.

d. Surface MissionsMany a times you would like to give surface missions where the data is collected only at thesurface for a specified time. These surface missions can be specified by giving the control voltage

to 1Volt. At this voltage the AVP cannot dive and hence the data will be collected at the surface.The time of the mission can be changed by changing the depth specified in the MISSION EDITOR .


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VIII. Post-Mission Tasks

a. Mission DataAfter a mission, the data of the mission can bedownloaded by clicking on DOWNLOAD LAST DIVE buttonon the HOME PAGE (Figure 19) . The prompt will ask youwhere to store the dive data and also the name of the file.

Make sure that the name of the file always contains .txt

as its extension while saving the file. When you click SAVEthe data collected will be saved on your computer.

b. Retrieving the AVPWe can now use the rope to pull the AVP back near the boat. If required, we can give moremissions after pulling the AVP to a satisfactory distance, so that the AVP is not too close to theboat as explained in a previous section. After the required number of missions is carried out, wecan lift the AVP back out of the water, and onto the boat.

c. Washing the AVPOne of the very important tasks is to wash the AVP with fresh water if the missions were carriedout in the sea. The sea water oxidizes the metal parts on the AVP if not washed away. Makesure that you carefully wash inside the nose cone and the tail cone as the sea wateraccumulates near the end plates.

Now that the AVP is finished with its work we can now switch it OFF. Wipe off the water on thePower ON cable (with tissue paper - recommended) and carefully remove the Power ON Switch,making sure that water does not go inside the connector. Connect the Dummy Switch on thecable.

Figure 19: Downloading a mission file


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IX. Analyzing the Data

The ANALYZE DATA section in the GUI lets u plot this data right on the field. But inorder foryou to analyze the mission data, you should firs download the data from AVP, as explained inthe previous section. After the data is downloaded, click on the ANALYZE DATA tab in themenu bar, which will open the ANALYZE DATA window (Figure 20) .

Figure 20: Offline Analysis window

On the top-right corner choose the file earlier downloaded (Figure 21) .

Figure 21: Selecting a file


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Go to the VEHICLE SENSORtab, choose TIME Vs Depth and click on PLOT. This Displays theTime v/s Depth profile of the AVP mission (Figure 22) .

Figure 22: Ploting the Data

Now change over to the SCIENCE SENSORS tab, where you can check the depth profiles of the sensors connected on the AVP (Figure 23) .

Figure 23: Science Sensor Data


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You can toggle between different sensor readings by using the radio buttons on the left-hand side of the window (Figure 24) .

Figure 24: Toggle between different Sensor readings

The graph initially displays the sensor readings for both the downward descend (downcast)and also the upward ascend (upcast) (Figure 25) .

Figure 25: Plot for both Upcast as well as Downcast


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You can also choose to plot only the downcast by using the radio buttons provided in at thebottom left corner of the window in the SCIENCE SENSORs tab (Figure 26) .

Figure 26: Plot only for Downcast


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APPENDIX

Installing AGUIThe AVP is also provided with a CD-ROM which contains the installation files and the AGUIapplication file. In the CD-ROM there will be a folder called AGUI, which contains two more folders:AGUI_app & AGUI_install . Before using the application, you will have to run the setup file present inAGUI_install . Go in AGUI_install, and then inside the Volume folder and the click on setup.exe file toexecute it. You will be prompted to select the destination for installing the required file, and thenclick on Next. Then accept the License Agreement when you are prompted to do so and click next.The installer will start installing the required files. After the installation is finished, click on Finish.

Now you can run the AGUI application. Go in the AGUI_app folder and run the AGUI.exe file. This

will start the AGUI application and now you can proceed to using this application.

Charging the AVPThe AVP has a battery cut-off level at 11Volts. When the batteries discharge to 11Volts the AVP willno longer dive. In this case we have to charge the AVP. The AVP is provided with a charging cable.This cable is to be connected on the Power ON cable of the AVP. The other end of the charging cableis to be connected to the charger provided with the AVP. This is a WORLEY 12 Volts charger. Thebatteries can be charged to a maximum level of 12.4 Volts.

How to find out to which COM PORT is the Serial to USB cableconnected to? Once you have connected the Serial to USB cable to your computer, right-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and click on Properties in the drop down menu. This will open the SystemProperties window as shown in the figure. Next go to the Hardware tab and click on the buttonnamed Device Manager .


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This will open another window displaying a list of devices connected and available on your system.Click on the + sign next to Ports option.

The list will drop down and will display a sub-list of the COM ports available on your system. One of the entries should be Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port as shown in the figure. The COM PORTspecified in the bracket (in this case COM7) is the COM Port where your USB to Serial converter isconnected to.


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