June 2023
May 2023
Spring Semester Ends
May 27, 2023ENJOY YOUR SUMMER FOR A BIT, WE'LL BE WORKING THROUGH IT!!!
Semester Recap
May 3, 2023
PCB and regulator board done! Soldering complete, but connecting to board holder is next!
Semester Recap
May 3, 2023
Decision to stick with behavior tree, prequalification tree set up! Deciding on search approach & logic for competition tree. Need to finish logic for prequalification and test & develop.
Semester Recap
May 3, 2023
Software overview diagram, thruster, controllers, sensor library framework complete! Controls firmware also established. Next is validating sensor libraries & controllers, testing software components, and tuning controllers.
Semester Recap
May 3, 2023
Prequalification object detection model trained. Porting old repository from ROS1 to ROS2. Determined that we will stick with YOLO (version 7 for better speed & less computing need). Need to create object detection node.
Semester Recap
May 1, 2023
Machine plates, carbon fiber rods, 3D-printed thruster mounts, locking mechanisms, battery cable connectors CAD, racks for side hull CAD, and electronic rack production all done!! Assembly to come.
April 2023
Progress Update!
April 24, 2023
Thruster mounts have been 3D printed and electronic rack has been designed. Next step is assembly and electronic rack manufacturing.
Control System!
April 20, 2023
Kyogre - control system name for both submarines. Will collect data, run filters & controllers, convert output vector to PVM values(machine code) and write values to actuators & thrusters.
ROS2 Publisher & Subscriber Nodes
April 14, 2023
Completed publisher and subscriber nodes for interfacing with cameras and extracting each frame from video feed.
Working on Interfaces
April 10, 2023Developing Controls interface and Computer Vision interface.
Progress Report
April 3, 2023
Team finished soldering on the PCB board. Now working with KiCAD again while waiting to wire to the vehicle.
Spring Break Recap
April 3, 2023
All plates and six carbon fiber rods have been manufactured.
Getting Started with ROS2
April 2, 2023Introduction to working with ROS2 (nodes, file structure and installation)
Spring Break Recap
April 1, 2023
Researched ORB-SLAM3 algorithm, various ROS2 drivers. Figuring out robot controllers - handhelds, user interface requirements, and the framework (Python + PyQT).
March 2023
Soldering Workshop Part II
March 10, 2023
Team had the opportunity to begin soldering on PCB boards using surface-mount device components. We also tested the boards for the correct voltages & capacities.
Software Requirements Overview
March 9, 2023
Designed high-level overview diagram for required software including Ubuntu & ROS2.
GROOT Behavior Tree
March 8, 2023
Made a prequalification gate behavior tree for the navigation of the submarine using Growing Robust Trees (GROOT) algorithm.
Battery Cable Connectors Discussion
March 8, 2023
Created a 3D model for the approach to manage cables and connectors for the submarine's battery.
Object Detection Model Showcase
March 3, 2023Shared our custom object detection models made from extracted frames from videos. Discussed what went well and what didn't (speed, accuracy).
Soldering Workshop Part I
March 3, 2023
Members began to solder hole boards and parts to create a 'traffic light' style board.
Tackling the Cooling Issue
March 3, 2023
Discussed design ideas for handling cooling within the main hull.
February 2023
Surface-Mount Device & Soldering Workshop
February 25, 2023
Practice for surface assembly on the PCB and testing with 13.2 and 16.8 voltage (measuring average voltage, ripple) and loading 3A.
Controls Workspace Setup
February 23, 2023
Went over installation of Arduino IDE, Visual Studio Code IDE and code formatting.
Continued Electriconics Rack
February 22, 2023
Reviewed last semester's brainstorming and last year's submarine's electronics rack (Blastoise) pros and cons.
Behavior Tree Nodes Introduction
February 22, 2023
Reviewed last semester's brainstorming and last year's submarine's electronics rack (Blastoise) pros and cons.
Live Object Detection Demo & Pytorch Introduction
February 17, 2023
Reviewing the process for custom object detection models (gathering data, annotating, augmentations, and training). Briefly went over Pytorch usage & use cases.
Jig Design and Laser Cutting
February 15, 2023
Worked on jig design for drilling through plates. Also used school's MakerSpace to attempt woodcutting.
Spring Semester Begins
January 23, 2022Welcome Back Eagles!!!
November 2022
Fall Semester Ends
November 11 - December 23, 2023ENJOY FALL RECESS, GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINALS, & WE'LL SEE YOU IN THE SPRING
Software WatchDog
November 25, 2022
Members were introduced to Software Watchdog - a watchdog that monitors software threads, analyzes performance data, and notifies the user of anything anamolous.
Electronics Rack Brainstorming
November 16, 2022
Considering design ideas for the electric rack while maintaining that cooling could be an issue for the electronics.
Board & Chip Research Session
November 4, 2022
Each subteam member chose a different board to research (5 options total). Did a lesson plan for LTSpice (how to import chip & testing), as well as analyze the differences in an AP63300 chip and AP2600 chip.
Torpedos, Sonar, & Hydrophone Placement
November 2, 2022
Determined that hydrophone placement will be at the bottom of the frame, behind where the torpedo may be. Brainstormed more design ideas.
October 2022
Controls First Design Review
October 28, 2022
Assigned research & development tasks.
Continued Harness Design Session
October 26, 2022
Determined harness should be placed between thruster mounts and that u-bolts should be used with carabiners.
Learning Package Structure, Catkin, and ROS2!
October 21, 2022
Instructional package structure review and catkin underlay. Touched on ROS nodes (rospy & roscpp API) as well as publisher & subscribers needed for effective communication.
Communication Protocols
October 21, 2022
GND, DTR, TxD, CTS, CD and more...
Buck Convertors Tutorial
October 21, 2022
Researching buck convertors and principles. Ran a buck convertor tutorial on KICAD.
Legs & Harness Design Session
October 19, 2022
Agreed on leg design. Brainstorming harness; 3 points of contact and needs to be able to sustain the bot while being loaded on the crane.
Computer Vision Fundamentals & Live Demo
October 16, 2022
Went over more fundamentals - localization (where an object is in frame) & classification (what is the object?). A live demo on building their first custom models using YOLOv4 & Google Colab.
What is Control?
October 14, 2022
Overview of states, sensors, and strategies. Reviewed the basics of Arduino.
Resume & LTSpice Workshop
October 14, 2022
An impromptu resume workshop to review the team's resumes and revise for improvements. Additionally, went over LTspice to simulate analog electronic circuits.
Thruster & Legs Design Session
October 12, 2022
Determined thruster mount 45 degree design. Began discussions on leg designs.
Thruster Brainstorm
October 5, 2022
Decided on thruster mounts. Vertical & 45 degree mounts.
September 2022
Controls Meeting
September 30, 2022
Familiarizing the team with working with Arduinos.
SMACH Introduction
September 28, 2022
SMACH (state machine) is a Python library we utilize to create hierarchical state machine diagrams.
Frame and Hull Meeting
September 28, 2022
Brainstormed vertical thruster placements and went over 3D printing process. Beginning of SolidWorks competition to develop ideas for mounting horizontal thruster.
Autonomy Meeting
September 23, 2022
Introducing the basics of state architecture (states, containers, transitions). Also went over some command line commands and the difference between terminals & shells.
EAGLECAD & KICAD Workshop
September 23, 2022
Reviewing software for electronic design automation and building PCB boards.
Frame and Hull Meeting
September 21, 2022
Discussed potential design problems and locking mechanisms. Began 3D prototyping with SolidWorks.
First Custom Object Detection Models
September 19, 2022
Getting started with YOLOv4 (You Only Look Once algorithm) and Darknet. Training using a pre-labeled dataset to familiarize the team with the process.
Electronics First Meeting
September 16, 2022
Introductions and getting to know one another! Determined meeting and workshop schedule.
Frame and Hull Brainstorm
September 14, 2022
Discussed acrylic hull layouts, cable positions, and anchoring cylinders in place. Brainstormed ideas for rotating part/ hold the acrylics cylinders in place.
Computer Vision First Meeting
September 11, 2022
Getting to know the team! Went over installation process for Ubuntu, OpenCV, and OIDv4 ToolKit (tools required for object detection). Also discussed the subteam scheduling and objectives.
Frame and Hull First Meeting
September 7, 2022
Introduction of SolidWorks Modeling. Determining the key points for the new build - Hull size change, no T-slots, Modular build. Assessing Blastoise's strengths & weaknesses to see what can be improved.
Frame and Hull First Meeting
September 7, 2022Introduction of SolidWorks Modeling. Determining the key points for the new build - Hull size change, no T-slots, Modular build. Assessing Blastoise's strengths & weaknesses to see what can be improved.
Fall Semester Begins
August 22, 2022Welcome Eagles!!!