Welcome to our Robosub Journey!

Hello and welcome to our blog, where we’ll be sharing the exciting progress of our capstone project: building an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the RoboSub 2025 competition in Irvine, California!

Our RoboSub is designed to tackle a series of complex underwater challenges. With its four thrusters, the AUV will propel and orient itself beneath the surface, while a sturdy PVC frame and an electrical housing from Blue Robotics keep everything in place. It will be powered by lithium batteries and driven by a Jetson Orin Nano, paired with a Pixhawk 4 flight navigator.

Key technologies like the Robot Operating System (ROS) and YOLO (You Only Look Once) for image recognition make our RoboSub smart. A low-light camera will help it detect objects, and a suite of sensors—including a moisture detector for leaks, a pressure sensor for depth, and a gyroscope for orientation—ensure safety and precision.

At the competition, our AUV will have be:

• Detecting and circling a red balloon.

• Shooting torpedoes.

• Picking up objects underwater and sorting them into boxes.

  
  

By the end of the spring semester our goal is to have a fully operational AUV capable of autonomous movement and object recognition underwater. Over the summer, we’ll focus on fine-tuning its abilities, including the integration of the torpedoes and claw mechanisms, in preparation for the competition in August.

We’re excited to share our journey, challenges, and victories with you as we bring this ambitious project to life. Stay tuned for updates, behind-the-scenes looks, and insights into our work.