A cleaning head for a marine cleaning system used for cleaning a liquid submerged surface includes a body configured to be disposed adjacent to and moved relative to the submerged surface during use. The body defines at least one suction aperture being in fluid communication with a suction region adjacent the body. At least one support arm extends from the body, which support arm in turn supports a respective cleaning element including a scraping blade that is configured to cause material on the submerged surface to separate from the submerged surface and become suspended in the suction region during use. The material separated from the submerged surface is drawn away from the suction region through the at least one suction aperture. Each support arm extends flexibly from a respective junction with the body so that the cleaning element is supported in a spaced relation laterally away from the junction with the junction being disposed in an operatively forward direction of the cleaning element during use.

Disclosed is an image processing method of processing a plurality of images into a single image, including: obtaining at least a left image, a center image, and a right image from a plurality of cameras arranged in a row; generating a left top-view image, a center top-view image, and a right top-view image based on the left image, the center image, and the right image, respectively; generating one wide top-view image by merging the left top-view image, the center top-view image, and the right top-view image; and generating and outputting the wide top-view image as a final wide image. Thus, the images from the plurality of cameras are merged into a single image, thereby reducing fatigue of a robot operator.

A hull cleaning system is disclosed that comprises a below-waterline hull cleaning head arranged to clean an underwater portion of a hull in-situ, a location determining system arranged to produce location information indicative of the location of the hull cleaning head relative to the hull, and a hub facility remotely located relative to the hull cleaning head. The hub facility is arranged to store the location information, and the system is arranged to send the location information to the hub facility for storage at the hub facility so as to thereby provide a record at the hub facility of clean portions of the hull that have been cleaned by the hull cleaning head and fouled portions of the hull that have not yet been cleaned by the hull cleaning head. The system is also arranged to provide on-line access to the location information stored at the hub facility so as to thereby enable cleaning to continue at a subsequent time using the stored location information.

A hull cleaning system is disclosed that comprises a below-waterline hull cleaning head arranged to clean an underwater portion of a hull in-situ, a location determining system arranged to produce location information indicative of the location of the hull cleaning head relative to the hull, and a hub facility remotely located relative to the hull cleaning head. The hub facility is arranged to store the location information, and the system is arranged to send the location information to the hub facility for storage at the hub facility so as to thereby provide a record at the hub facility of clean portions of the hull that have been cleaned by the hull cleaning head and fouled portions of the hull that have not yet been cleaned by the hull cleaning head. The system is also arranged to provide on-line access to the location information stored at the hub facility so as to thereby enable cleaning to continue at a subsequent time using the stored location information.

The invention provides an element comprising: an electrical component, an optical medium comprising medium material comprising a silicone transmissive for one or more of UV radiation and visible radiation, wherein the electrical component is embedded in the optical medium, an electrical connector for functionally coupling the electrical component external to the optical medium , wherein the electrical connector is embedded in the optical medium over at least part of its length; and a water barrier at least partly embedded in the optical medium and configured to enclose at least part of the electrical connector .

The invention provides an element comprising: an electrical component, an optical medium comprising medium material comprising a silicone transmissive for one or more of UV radiation and visible radiation, wherein the electrical component is embedded in the optical medium, an electrical connector for functionally coupling the electrical component external to the optical medium , wherein the electrical connector is embedded in the optical medium over at least part of its length; and a water barrier at least partly embedded in the optical medium and configured to enclose at least part of the electrical connector .

The invention provides an element (210) comprising: (i) an electrical component (1220); (ii) an optical medium (270) comprising medium material (275) comprising a silicone transmissive for one or more of UV radiation and visible radiation, wherein the electrical component (1220) is embedded in the optical medium (270); (iii) an electrical connector (510) for functionally coupling the electrical component (1220) external to the optical medium (270), wherein the electrical connector (510) is embedded in the optical medium (270) over at least part of its length; and (iv) a water barrier (530) at least partly embedded in the optical medium (270) and configured to enclose at least part of the electrical connector (510).

The invention provides an element (210) comprising: (i) an electrical component (1220); (ii) an optical medium (270) comprising medium material (275) comprising a silicone transmissive for one or more of UV radiation and visible radiation, wherein the electrical component (1220) is embedded in the optical medium (270); (iii) an electrical connector (510) for functionally coupling the electrical component (1220) external to the optical medium (270), wherein the electrical connector (510) is embedded in the optical medium (270) over at least part of its length; and (iv) a water barrier (530) at least partly embedded in the optical medium (270) and configured to enclose at least part of the electrical connector (510).

A rotating grooming brush comprising a brush hub having grooming elements and shroud elements, and method for grooming a surface having an unwanted material thereon. The elements extend from the brush hub and may be positioned near its outer periphery. The elements may be grooming elements forming an array and shroud elements forming a shroud array. A rigid or elastomeric shroud extending from the brush hub surface may optionally be included about the edge of the brush hub, to the outside of the grooming elements. Rotation of the grooming attachment brush causes a low pressure region to build in the central area of the brush. This low pressure region creates a resulting force that forcefully attracts the grooming attachment brush to the surface to be groomed. The resulting force is controlled by the diameter of the brush hub, arrangement, of the elements and the speed of rotation.

A cleaning device that passively self-adjusts to improve biofoul removal across curved, non-uniform, or irregular underwater surfaces. The cleaning device includes a motor, one or more shafts coupled to the motor and coupled to one another via at least one universal joint, and a cleaning mechanism for removing biofoul from the target surface. The cleaning device includes an alignment mechanism that restricts the cleaning mechanism's movement to improve biofoul removal. The alignment mechanism can include bearings, spring components, dampening material, adhesion components, floatation objects, or a combination thereof.