Design and Testing of an Amphibious AUV

Twombly, Benjamin; Russell, Evan; Driscoll-Carignan, Graham; Chesanek, Ryan; McMahon, Matthew; Granlund, Spencer

Student Work

Design and Testing of an Amphibious AUV

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The goal of this project is to design, assemble, and test an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that can seamlessly transition between aerial flight and underwater movement. The system comprises a quadrotor structure equipped with a waterproof enclosure containing the necessary electronics and microcontroller to enable autonomous flight. All these operations are carried out autonomously through a Pixhawk flight controller that incorporates a Raspberry Pi companion computer and a comprehensive sensor array. To showcase these capabilities, the designed quadrotor is tasked with completing a mission in an indoor swimming pool. The AUV begins on the poolside, takes off vertically, hovers stably above the water's surface, lands on the water, submerges three feet, and covers 20 feet underwater, resurfaces, and then returns to its starting position. This paper outlines the design process and the iterative steps taken, as well as the research undertaken to improve and enhance each iteration.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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