This week our team spent most of our time preparing for the design presentation next week. This involved developing our slidedeck, but, in doing so, also meant that most of our time was spent continuing to research materials and components to order. For the purpose of our design presentation and spec document, we’ve broken our project into four components. Design progress, by component:

Microcontroller + Communication

After discussing feedback from the proposal presentation, we have decided to continue using WiFi for communication, rather than any other method. This decision was made after discussing with our Prof Kim at the weekly meeting, who advised that it’s not necessary for the scope of our project to focus on choosing/developing the best communication method, and that WiFi will fit our basic needs just fine.

We also continued to validate our previously chosen microcontroller (Raspberry Pi 4), ensuring that it will be able to control everything that will be included in our project.

Control System

We researched various methods of constructing the physical, above-water boat component, ultimately landing on a foam core board design inspired by a number of well-documented diy projects that we explored. This base will be controlled via a double propellor system, not using a rudder.

The deploying and retracting of the under-water component will be controlled using a stepper motor. After doing torque and force calculations, we determined that the NEMA 17 motor should work for our project. We plan to source the motor through the Robotics Institute; if the NEMA 17 is unavailable, the NEMA 23 will also meet our needs while just being a bit overkill. Otherwise, we’ll assess our options and select a motor which has a minimum of 70 oz holding torque.

Sensor System

Most of the work for this system was completed last week, specifically choosing and ordering both the camera and pH sensor modules, as well as settling on silicone casting the underwater components. The exact mold design for this cast will be determined in the coming weeks once the components have arrived.

This week we did a bit of research into materials to house these cables, allowing their respective datalines to run from the underwater modules to the above water microcontroller. We will be housing all of the cables in a flexible, waterproof wire heat shrink (sizing will be finalized for purchase once we’ve been able to validate that the 4th generation pi supports our needed camera resolution), with kevlar thread running through it as well to provide tension protection.

ML + Map Recreation

Most of this week’s design work within this component was researching potential libraries to support our image recombination feature. We’ve narrowed down a number of initial options to two: OpenCV and COLMAP. We’ll likely continue forward with both of these libraries and make the final decision based on results from impending test-code.

Additional Status Report Writing

(Part A – Abie) Our device is designed so that it can be used by people of all cultures and backgrounds. It is made for scientists and researchers to track changes in coral health without putting human divers at risk. In this way, our design prioritizes the safety of the people working to protect our coral reefs. The motivation behind protecting coral reefs also has social impacts, where certain cultures are impacted by coral reefs. One of the benefits for having healthy coral reefs is that they protect coastlines from erosion. Coastlines are distinctive features of countries and many people benefit from them. Tourism and business flourish around the coasts, and the coral reefs themselves draw tourists because of their beauty. Over 100 countries have coral reefs within their borders, including Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. 

(Part B – Emma) One of the threats to the coral reefs is overfishing. 55% of the world’s coral reefs are impacted by overfishing. Overfishing can cause algae to grow unchecked on the coral, smothering them which can lead to coral death. Many cultures rely on fishing as a food source and for trade. The Philippines, which has vast coral reefs, has over 1.9 million registered fishermen. Seafood makes up a large portion of their diet as well. It seems that countries with coral reefs rely heavily on fishing, but this culture can actually harm the coral reefs. Promoting the protection of these reefs could impact these countries’ economies and cultures. Additionally //climate change//

(Part C – Maddie) As described in Part B, our project may have negative impacts on countries whose economies rely heavily on the fishing industry, however, these negative impacts would only be in effect in the short term. Preserving coral reefs supports long-term fish population stability and growth, ultimately sustaining the fishing industry and benefiting communities that depend on it. 

Additionally, many scientists currently deploy human divers to explore reefs and collect data indicating their health. This process involves repeated costs for each exploration or survey that is conducted, including the cost of purchasing/renting/maintaining diving equipment as well as the rate of the diver themselves. Although the production of the robot we are designing would require a potentially larger overhead cost, the cost amortization over time would make it a more economical solution by eliminating the repeated expenses associated with human divers.