CREST Research Lab
During my sophomore year, I joined the Climate Robotics and Expeditionary Science Technology (CREST) research group. This interdisciplinary lab focuses on the intersection of robotics, autonomous algorithms, and environmental science. Our primary mission is to develop and deploy robotic systems designed for oceanic and earth sciences research, providing scientists with high-fidelity data from environments that are often inaccessible to humans.
As a researcher within the CREST Lab, I am developing a compact, modular autonomous surface vessel (ASV) designed for freshwater environmental monitoring. The primary engineering goal is to create a lightweight platform that supports rapid sensor swapping in the field, allowing researchers to transition between different data collection missions without extensive downtime or specialized tools.
To achieve this, I am focused on a high-level modular architecture where the sensor payloads are decoupled from the main propulsion and navigation systems. This design maximizes the versatility of a single vehicle, enabling the gathering of diverse datasets—such as pH levels, temperature, or camera footage—from a single compact platform. My work involves optimizing the balance between the vessel's structural portability and the power requirements needed for long-duration autonomous travel in freshwater ecosystems.
The design process for the vessel began with a buoyancy analysis to determine the optimal displacement-to-weight ratio. I utilized the fundamental buoyancy equation to calculate the upward force exerted by the fluid:
F_B = ρVg
(Where F_B is the buoyant force, ρ is the fluid density, V is the submerged volume, and g is the acceleration due to gravity).
I integrated this formula into a parametric spreadsheet to evaluate various hull geometries against our target weight. By iterating through different volume and weight configurations, I optimized the hull size to maintain a factor of safety of 1.2x, ensuring the vessel remains buoyant even under unexpected payload increases.
After finalizing the hull dimensions, I conducted a stability analysis by comparing the Center of Mass (CoM) against the Center of Buoyancy (CoB). This analysis allowed me to predict the static trim and draft of the vessel, ensuring that the hull sits level in the water and maintains high self-righting stability during autonomous operation.
Following the completion of the high-fidelity CAD assembly in SolidWorks, I transitioned to a scaled-model prototyping phase to validate my hydrostatic calculations. By testing a physical scale model, I was able to observe the vessel’s actual buoyancy and displacement characteristics in a controlled environment. This empirical testing was crucial for identifying the requirements needed to optimize the center of mass and for verifying the effectiveness of my waterproofing strategies before moving to the final model.
The insights gained from these tests allowed me to perform a final round of design optimizations within the CAD environment, ensuring that the internal component mounts and sealing surfaces were perfectly aligned with the vessel's real-world performance. I have recently moved into the fabrication phase for the full-scale hull. Over the coming months, I will be focused on the final assembly and integration of the propulsion and autonomous navigation systems to prepare the vessel for field deployment.
For the next phase of development, I plan to export the hull geometry into Ansys to perform a series of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. This analysis will allow me to characterize the vessel's hydrodynamic performance and observe the interaction between the hull surface and fluid flow at various velocities. By visualizing the pressure distribution and wake patterns, I can identify specific areas of the hull that may be contributing to excessive drag or negatively impacting steering authority.
These simulations will provide a data-driven foundation for refining the hull's entry and exit lines to improve overall efficiency. Following the CFD analysis, I will execute a final design iteration in CAD to implement these aerodynamic and hydrodynamic optimizations. This iterative process ensures that the second-generation vessel will possess a highly tuned hull geometry, capable of navigating freshwater environments with greater stability and reduced energy consumption.