A Simulation of an Oyster Farm to Aid in Developing Autonomy for Aquaculture

Open-ocean aquaculture farms are generally located in rough and risky environments, leading farmers to consider automation to keep workers safe and to boost production. The Sea Grant Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been working with Ward Aquafarms, a New England oyster farm, to develop the Oystermaran, a 2-meter long robot catamaran that flips oyster baskets. These baskets, which float in large linear arrays, must be flipped every week to clear away biofouling on the baskets' undersides that blocks nutrients from reaching the growing oysters inside. In order for an automated tool like the Oystermaran to prove cost-efficient, it must be autonomous. This paper presents the design of a realistic mission simulation based on the Virtual RobotX Gazebo simulator in which the Oystermaran and oyster basket array have been modeled. Physical parameters for both models were determined through a combination of measurements and theoretical estimation to validate the simulation. This simulation is the first step towards efficient autonomy development for the Oystermaran and furthermore provides capabilities to adjust to the layouts of oyster basket arrays at other farms.