Who We Are

We are a hard-working, driven team of hardware and software engineers dedicated to building and innovating in the fields of naval architecture and maritime robotics. Our students challenge themselves in a fast-paced work environment while also making lifelong connections with incredible people.

Our goal is to design, manufacture, test, and compete with an autonomous boat capable of decision-making and complex path planning using computer vision. We compete in the annual Roboboat competition, run by Robonation.

Our Project Cycle:

Research

As soon as our travel team comes home from competition, we evaluate our performance and begin to do research on how we can improve in the following year. The research process concludes at the end of the spring semester.

Design

As soon as the fall semester starts, we begin our design process. For our hardware team, this involves a lot of CAD, ECAD, simulation, and hand calculations in order to come up with and prove out designs. On the software side, our engineers write new AI, CV, and control code stacks, making sure that they all interface well in our ROS framework. Designs are locked in by the end of the fall semester, after several reviews and iterations.

Manufacturing

At the beginning of the spring semester, our hardware team puts in long hours to get the new boat built and ready for competition. Our engineers get to use the composites workshop, the Emerson machine shop, and the ELL to fabricate and assemble their designs, gaining valuable hands-on experience along the way.

Testing