New Design Plans

See the Design page for pictures of new modifications. The main modifications will include:

• Removal of GoPro camera. The GoPro has been one of the biggest problems for us, needing WiFi and 3rd party freeware programs to make it work, and malfunctioning during most pool tests. Microsoft Lifecams will be used for our main cameras, with the forward facing camera inside of the main vessel and the down-facing camera enclosed in it's own capsule.
• The endcaps and wet-connects are redone. The front cap of the pressure vessel will now be clear acrylic, allowing cameras to be used inside with better ease of design and switching of cameras. See the Design page.
• A new electronics rack is being made out of plastic. The electronics will be reorganized on the new rack for better access and space efficiency.
• The batteries will be moved outside of the main pressure vessel for easier switching out and charging.
• The kill switch will operate with a relay instead of directly connecting the main battery supply.

Functional Specifications:

The RoboSub is designed to follow the missions given to teams by the Annual International RoboSub Competition committee. Although, for this project, the team has not yet been assigned a mission so the function of the RoboSub is limited currently to the basics that will be necessary for any competition. Our RoboSub will be designed so that it can move autonomously depending on the scenario in which it is placed. Commonly, this skill is put to the test by having each RoboSub follow a line across the bottom of a pool. As the team is anticipating this possibility for our own mission, the team will be designing the RoboSub with the capabilities of following a line autonomously. Because it needs to move by itself, the RoboSub will include thrusters that will propel it in all directions. Ideally, the RoboSub will also be programmed to know its location and depth and plan accordingly so that it may complete other missions such as finding a buoy and touching it or submerging and propelling itself through an underwater gate.

The primary functions of the submarine are to be waterproof and to be able to control its position underwater. Without these two functions all secondary functions would be impossible. This year’s group will be making changes to last year’s pre-existing submarine with the hopes of improvement from last year. Last year’s group had known problems with both the waterproofing of the sub and the position control. The end cap that houses the wired connections and protects the inner computer from the water was leaking. This end cap will have to be redesigned with better seals and wired connections to ensure that no leakage is found. After the submarine is waterproof the position control will have to be improved.

Autonomous control of the sub is done primarily through the detection of colors. All of the tasks from previous years competition involved detecting an object underwater with known color then making a task decision based on these colors.