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Project Description:
The University of Central Florida (UCF) Robotics Laboratory is working on an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) for the Autonomous Vehicle Competition (ASVC) sponsored by AUVSI and ONR.
This is our second year's entry SS Boatname.
News:
June 21 2009: The final day went very well, we have continued our streak and have won the 2nd Annual ASV competition. To accomplish this, we manually repaired 3 of our 5 thrusters which broken when they let on water (which interestingly enough used the same internals as our arm motor). We put them back on and practically doubled our thrust and speed. During the competition, we were able to go through the speed gate, 6 of the 8 buoys, missed the two obstacles, almost docked (but hit the side because of wind), found and fired at the target (but our hose was bent down and shot the water instead), found the rescue buoy and attempted to pick it up (but the arm got stuck), and finally returned to the dock and parked. This was enough to win the competition and receive the $6,000 first prize. As a team, we would like to thank everyone including our sponsors for allowing us to continue creating robots.
June 20 2009: Today was much better than the previous day. For our qualifying run, we only used 3 motors, leaving out the two repaired motors. We are extremely happy with our qualifying run. S.S. Boatname navigated through the speed channel after only a couple of tries. Buoy navigation worked excellent, completely making it through the channel. S.S. Boatname was unable to to see the sinking ship to dock with it because of the red brick building behind it. All of the motors were covered in silicon to ensure water does not leak into them. The afternoon was spent catching up on sleep. In the evening, we hooked up the two repaired motors and went into the pool to tune the heading controller. We are confident in S.S. Boatname's ability to complete the course tomorrow.
June 19 2009: Today was a long day filled with problems. Once we fixed one problem, another showed up. During our practice runs in the morning, we could't maintain a heading. We found a ferrous metal on a strap that was interfering with the compass, so this fix was pretty easy. Motor problems on the other hand, plagued us the whole day. During the morning, we had random problems with the motors. In the evening, two of our motors failed because water leaked into them. Luckily the motors for the arm were exactly the same as the Seabotixs motors, so we were able to begin the repair process. It was a long night working on the motors. The speed channel was also giving us difficulties. Its length was longer than we anticipated, and our current code was designed for that length. Since human error has the potential to be a large problem in navigating the speed channel, so Ross spent a lot of time working on his aiming. We placed third in static judging, and got to choose our times for the qualifying runs. We will have qualifying runs at 10am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday. The finals will take place on Sunday afternoon.
June 18 2009: After a long car ride, we made it to Virgina Beach. S.S. Boatname needed to be checked out to make sure there were not any damages to the essential systems. We were hoping to get into the pool to do some light testing, but the weather did not agree with us. We were stuck under a gazebo for a while until we decided we would rather get soaked than stand there.
June 2009: Testing, testing, and more testing. The remaining time before the competition was dedicated to ensuring S.S. Boatname will preform well at the competition.
Minor changes to the frame and electronics was done when a potential problem was noticed. Pictures of the testing of S.S. Boatname can be viewed in the media section
May 2009: The construction, electronics, and software have all for the most part completed. This will allow the team to start the much needed testing. The only component we are waiting
on is the new board, with added features for the arm, buttons, and indicator lights. This new board will replace our old two boards and minimize on wiring. The tests that
have been completed include running a program on the computer that takes in information from all the sensors (GPS, compass, main camera, and secondary camera). The current
test will involve taking logs of all these sensors while manually moving the boat. A practice course is also being constructed.
April 2009: The main two boards have been designed and manufactured by Advanced Circuits. The boards were then filled and tested. Software has also started. The first step
was to create the architecture based around Jaus. This will allow for our different projects to easily interchange software and components. A dry box was purchased after careful
design and analysis on the size and heat generation of the electronic components. Waterproof connectors and a cooling system were added to the dry box. Waterproof boxes for the
cameras were built and attached to the boat. The water gun was also mounted.
March 2009: Work on the frame has begun. We've decided to make the frame out of aluminum, similar to last year. Also, this year the electronics will be housed in a single waterproof case
that will sit vertically in the center of the pontoons. The decision has also been made that five seabotix motors will be used for propulsion, four for axial motion and one for
lateral movement. It was also determined that two circuit boards would be needed. Design on the two circuit boards was also started. The frame was finished around the end of the
month. The motors were mounted onto the frame and testing was performed on how the boat handled in the water with the frame and the motors mounted.
February 2009: Received new vehicle, a pontoon style personal fishing vessel. Some testing was performed including how much weight it can hold and checking where the water line is. Frame design was begun
after a concrete idea of what we want to do was determined.
January 2009: Some preliminary rules have been released, the size will be the same as the previous year. We will now search for a prefabricated vehicle to modify.
November 2007: Planning for the electronic and mechanic designs have begun, waiting for this year's rules until construction begins.
Fall Semester 2008: Team is formed and has begun brainstorming on what will be done with the vehicle this upcoming year. Ross will be leading this team to the competition.
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