We introduce a system for real-time sperm whale rendezvous at sea using an autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicle. Our system employs model-based reinforcement learning that combines in situ sensor data with an empirical whale dive model to guide navigation decisions. Key challenges include (i) real-time acoustic tracking in the presence of multiple whales, (ii) distributed communication and decision-making for robot deployments, and (iii) on-board signal processing and long-range detection from fish-trackers. We evaluate our system by conducting rendezvous with sperm whales at sea in Dominica, performing hardware experiments on land, and running simulations using whale trajectories interpolated from marine biologists' surface observations.

翻译：我们提出了一种利用自主无人飞行器在海上实现抹香鲸实时会合的系统。该系统采用基于模型的强化学习方法，将现场传感器数据与经验性鲸鱼潜水模型相结合，以指导导航决策。关键挑战包括：(i) 在多头鲸鱼存在情况下的实时声学追踪，(ii) 机器人部署的分布式通信与决策制定，以及 (iii) 机载信号处理与来自鱼类追踪器的远程探测。我们通过在多米尼加海域与抹香鲸进行会合实验、在陆地进行硬件测试，以及利用海洋生物学家水面观测数据插值生成的鲸鱼轨迹进行仿真，对该系统进行了评估。