@article{Cao2026, 
author = {Haoming Cao and Changfeng Tian and Zhi Qu and Xuan Che and Fan Wu},
title = {Design and operational performance analysis of a mobile pond bottom environment control device},
year = {2026},
journal = {South China Fisheries Science},
volume = {22},
number = {2},
pages = {85-97},
keywords = {Pond aquaculture, Bottom environment control, Webbed paddle wheel, Sludge removal mechanism, Path planning},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.12131/20250277},
doi = {10.12131/20250277},
abstract = {To address the problems of insufficient stability, limited operating range, uncontrollable trajectories, and susceptibility to aquatic weed entanglement in conventional pond bottom environment regulation devices, we designed a mobile pond bottom-environment regulation device. The device consisted of a mud-lifting module, a propulsion module, a hybrid power-supply module, and an intelligent path-planning module. Pond bottom disturbance and water-quality improvement were achieved through the mud-lifting module; a fin-paddle wheel propulsion mechanism was adopted to effectively prevent weed entanglement; solar panels were integrated to enhance endurance and operational stability; and autonomous navigation with high-coverage operation was realized through path planning based on disturbance bandwidth. The results show that the device achieved a daily water-lifting capacity of no less than 100 m3, a mud-disturbance bandwidth of 2 m, a traveling speed of 0.556~1.500 m·s−1, an operating coverage rate of 90.5%, and a stable operating duration of 2 h per charge. Pond-bottom regulation experiments indicate that operation of the device increased bottom-layer dissolved oxygen by an average of 33.25%, transformed the redox environment from a weakly reducing state to a stable weakly oxidizing state, reduced the chlorophyll growth rate by 5.33%, and maintained stable pH values. Overall, the device demonstrates good performance in propulsion, intelligent path planning, and bottom-environment regulation, and thus has strong potential for practical application.}
}