Design, Construction, and Field Testing of an Autonomous Surface Craft for Engineering and Science Education

This authentic multidisciplinary engineering project worked to develop an Autonomous Surface Craft (ASC) as a platform for scientific field research. The project served as a hands-on educational experience involving in-house design and fabrication and in-the-field operation. This sort of immersive engineering experience exemplifies Olin College´s approach to engineering education. This project, focused around marine technology, is particularly effective for interdisciplinary undergraduate education. In addition, the engineering project stands within the larger context of marine studies and oceanography, making it more than just a pure engineering exercise. The goal of the project was to design, build, and field operate a surface vehicle capable of completing autonomous surveys, operated by small scientific teams without the use of specialized equipment. A student team designed the vehicle to carry a wide range of payloads both in terms of weight and power requirements. The team also strove to maximize the educational experience for the design team whenever practical. This goal led to custom construction, specific characterization laboratory experiments, and in-house software components. We present the final prototype, analytical laboratory results, and field data from multiple trials. These results illustrate how the design meets, and in some cases exceeds, the aforementioned design requirements. While this project is still very much a work in progress, the past year´s work has already shown a positive impact on the undergraduate students involved. This sort of authentic engineering project focused in marine technology is ideal for undergraduate engineering students looking to learn by doing and gain valuable experience.