Animal Transport Carrier

The Animal Transport Carrier [ATC] sponsored by the Navy Marine Mammal Program of SPAWAR

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Context:

SPAWAR’s Navy Marine Mammal Program trains dolphins to detect underwater mines all over the world. These dolphins are valued for their superb ability to use underwater sonar better than any existing robotics could compete with, and have been sent to other countries to detect suspicious objects near navy vessels.

Problem Definition:

The current ATC is too long to easily be maneuvered length-wise into the C-40 aircraft used to transport these creatures around the globe. The current ATC is 136" long, and the C-40 aircraft door is 132" wide. Under the assumption that reducing the length of the ATC to 132" or shorter will resolve much of the risk associated with transporting the dolphins, our task was to reduce the outside length of the ATC as much as possible while maintaining the current inner dimensions.

Functional Requirements of the New Design:

Maximum weight of ATC, excluding dolphin and water, must be less than 1000 lbs.
Materials must be corrosion resistant for use in salty environments.
ATC must be free of sharp internal edges to avoid harming the dolphins.
Must be securable using tie-down hooks in the same manner as the previous ATC. (See Previous ATC in Action section for details.)
Must cost under $12k to manufacture.
Internal dimensions must remain 128" long x 32" wide x 30" high.
External length cannot be longer than 132" long.
Bottom must be stiff to avoid bending when lifted by forklift (See Previous ATC in Action section for context.)
Casters, scaffold, and aluminum poles from the previous ATC must be re-usable in the new design. (See Previous ATC in action for depiction of these components).

Previous Animal Transport Carrier in Action:

Dolphin is lowered into previous ATC while resting in a stretcher held up by two hollow aluminum poles. These poles are lowered into the ATC via crane. Once inside the ATC, the poles are held up with pins that are inserted into the vertical scaffolds attached at each end of the wall.

Once inside the ATC, the dolphin stretcher poles must be free to move side-to-side in order to tighten or loosen the stretcher around the dolphin, as seen above.

The above image depicts the existing ATC resting on a fork lift forks. As seem in the image above (which can be opened in a separate tab to zoom in), there is some water in the tank to support the weight of the dolphin. The weight of the dolphin is indirectly supported by the lip on the far sides of the ATC tub.

The above image depicts the risk associated with lifting the current ATC via forklift. The longer the ATC, the more difficult it is to fit the ATC lengthwise into the airplane, especially so high above the ground. There is a risk of the water moving around and changing the center of mass of the ATC, which could tip over the dolphin.

The doorway of a Boeing C-40 is 132" long. The current ATC is 136" long. The only way of shortening the ATC without altering the internal dimensions is by removing the lip that the dolphin's weight rests on, changing the tie-down hooks, and making the ATC body thinner.

The tie-down hooks are used to secure the ATC in either an aircraft or a truck bed. They are currently the only area that suffers visible wear in the existing ATC. The locations of the tie-down hooks around the new ATC must remain roughly the same.

Here is an image of the previous ATC with dolphin nestled inside. The body is made of fiberglass, which is covering a foam core. There are six casters (wheels) on the bottom of the tub. Some steel frame support is embedded inside the fiberglass.

Above shows some unused ATCs being stored in a typical way. As seen, it is not unusual for the ATC's weight to be supported from the tub bottom, above the casters, which is also the case when the forklift raises the ATC. This necessitates a stiff tub bottom resistant to bending forces.

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