AUVSI RoboSub

Introduction

The current project goal for the Robosub is to design a mechanical arm capable of performing several tasks in the AUVSI Robosub competition. These tasks consist of pulling a ship silhouette connected to a yellow buoy underwater, grasping a handle and moving a sliding door, grasping a handle and lifting a lid, and grasping an object to place it on a platform underwater. The arm should also be versatile enough to perform future competition tasks, and capable of running off the RoboSub’s existing pneumatic, electrical, and mechanical systems.The arm needs to be waterproof, use low power, be lightweight, integrate with the current framework of the sub, and have the ability to be run autonomously. For our prototype, the arm can run out of water off of computer commands that will later be changed into automations.

Motivation

This year is the 19th International RoboSub Competition that is sponsored by AUVSI. The goal of this competition is to advance the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) by challenging a new generation of engineers to perform realistic missions in an underwater environment. The event also serves to foster ties between young engineers and the organizations developing AUV technologies.

The Annual RoboSub Competition is an important key to keeping young engineers excited about careers in science, technology, engineering, and math and has been tremendously successful in recruiting students into the high-tech field of maritime robotics.

The Montana State University RoboSub team is sponsored by the the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). NAVSEA provides the MSU RoboSub team with a $20,000 annual competition budget. This budget will cover costs associated with the design and construction of a new RoboSub for the 2016 competition and travel expenses to San Diego, along with the development of a mechanical arm. The development of the mechanical arm is the focus of the Spring 2016 Capstone I team. Approximately $2,000 will be available for the design and construction of the mechanical arm, though this figure is dependent on what percentage of the budget is devoted to costs associated with the current iteration of the RoboSub, which is being built by the Capstone II team.