Unmanned Underwater Vehicle for Efficient Swarming 2.0
Team: Seersha Bickerstaff, Jared Coen, Daniel Gibson, Laura Lundahl, Jaden Mecham, Thomas Rowlan
Sponsor: KIHOMAC
Project Description
Problem Description
- KIHOMAC seeks an affordable underwater vehicle for mass production and swarm use.
- Desired vehicle should be simple, versatile, and compatible with various sensors and payloads.
- Aim is to address major issues from the previous design, which lacked neutral buoyancy and did not utilize control surfaces for movement.
- This vehicle should move forward, up/down in depth, pitch, turn/roll while moving forward using the ballast and control surfaces.
- Cost of manufacturing copies of the prototype must be low to enable mass production.
Customer Constraints
- Capable of forward, backwards, upwards, downwards, turning and rolling movement
- Utilizes surface control systems to take advantage of water viscosity
- Maintains neutral buoyancy
- Able to operate at 5 meters of water depth
- Waterproof
Customer Requirements (performance, excitement, and functional)
- Ease of user control
- Efficient Movement
- Easy to manufacture, repair, and maintain
- Extended run time
- Compact system to minimize internal volume
- Inexpensive
- Reliable
- Compatible with attachments and modifications
- Compatible with attachments and modifications
Design Description
Control Surfaces
- Used to help the vehicle turn and roll in the water
- Takes advantage of water viscosity
Front Attachment
- Used to maintain hydrodynamic vehicle profile
- Covers ballast entrance and wire passthroughs
Electronics
- Stepper motors, DC motors, and servos controlled by an Arduino
- Arduino controlled by a controller connected to a USB host shield
MUV System
- Modular Underwater Vehicle design compatible with external attachments to fit any desired use case
- Uses control surfaces and a dual ballast system to control depth and movement
- Easy to use electronic pin connections to swap or add electronic components
Back Attachment
- Holds thruster motors and propellers
- Maintains hydrodynamic profile
Ballast
- Takes in and expels water from the vehicle
- Used to change the buoyancy of the vehicle
Internal Housing
- Central box to hold all electronics
- Attachment points all around for control surfaces and other attachments
Performance Review
Tests Successfully Performed
- Lag time between user input and output
- Mass
- Rating of ease of transfer to and from water
- Time to open and close vehicle
- Number of tools necessary to repair and reseal vehicle
- Copy cost
- Connection points for attachments
- Run time of one use
- Waterproofing of internal housing
Tests To Be Performed in Next Iteration
- Tactical diameter
- Roll rate
- Speed of ascent / descent
- Forward and backward speed
- Dive depth
- Time required to train user
- Number of hours between failure
Conclusion
Requirements Met
- Waterproofness
- Mass
- Lag time for user input and output
- Time required to train
- Number of tools needed
- Cost to copy
- Connection points for attachments
Requirements to Improve
- Ease of transfer to and from water
- Time to open and close vehicle
- See performance review for untested parameters
Lessons Learned
- Conduct early and frequent testing.
- Ensure functionality before full-scale implementation.
- Consider creating scale models for comprehensive design evaluation.
- Establish clear communication with sponsors and customers.
- Differentiate between presented solutions and actual requirements to avoid confusion.
- Define and prioritize project elements effectively.
- Manage project scope to avoid overreaching objectives.
Future Work
- Reprint electronics box
- Optimize external attachments using CFD
- Implement wireless connection between computers for improved control.
- Integrate control loops to prevent unintended vehicle behavior.
- Test multiple off-the-shelf propellers for optimal performance.
- Balance prototyping needs with future manufacturing considerations.
- Evaluate and adjust team composition for improved performance and collaboration.