Our control system team plans to make a robust, flexible, and extensible control framework, employing combined feedforward-feedback control, vectored thrusters, and autonomous control to achieve 6 degrees of freedom control authority and intuitive, responsive control. In future, the knowledge and codebase can then be reused and improved upon to perform in the different environments set by each year’s competition and physical ROV iterations.
The Gripper Team is developing custom grippers to be manufactured in-house. These grippers will be specifically designed to manipulate objects with a high level of dexterity and control and are suitable for several applications that require precision and reliability underwater. Additionally, our team strives to ensure the grippers have a minimal effect on the ROV’s centre of mass and buoyancy, ensuring optimal manoeuvrability and stability during operation.
The Chassis Team is meticulously designing a sturdy and versatile frame to support the peripherals while minimizing the overall weight of the ROV. By extensively researching and comparing the properties of various composite materials, we aim to produce a design that maintains the necessary strength and rigidity, while not producing any unnecessary drag. With careful attention to the positioning of various systems, our goal is to enhance the ROV's performance by precisely controlling its centre of mass and buoyancy.
The Float Team oversees the design of a standalone device that uses an in-house developed low-powered buoyancy engine to propel the Float to travel vertically, resulting in a variable height transmission link from the ROV to the home base. The buoyancy engine uses low-power electromechanical components, borrowing a concept used in 3D printing to change the volume of the diaphragm.
The UV Light Team is developing a small, 3-D printed device that uses an Iris mechanism to close around a targeted area of coral, effectively blocking out unwanted light, and then irradiating it with a specific wavelength of light. This enables us to focus the irradiation precisely on the coral, promoting its growth and health, which is essential to the overall health of our oceans. We are proud to be part of a project that has the potential to make a positive impact on our environment, and we are committed to continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible with 3-D printing technology.