Team Kanaloa – UPSV – RIP Laboratory

Unmanned Port Security Vessel Project

Our Mission

Team Kanaloa shall examine the existing Unmanned Port Security Vessel (UPSV)’s damage, research innovative solutions for various components capable of supporting a modular instrument array, and refit and refurbish the vessel. By the end of December 2021, the vessel shall be structurally sound and capable of 2D three-axis stationkeeping and obstacle avoidance within a protected water environment in littoral zones with less than 2 foot swells.

In the event that COVID-19 pandemic restrictions prevent the team from acquiring necessary resources, using lab spaces, or accessing a suitable water environment, the trajectory demonstration shall take place in the form of a simulation. The relaunch of the UPSV shall serve as a catalyst for future Team Kanaloa research and collaboration.

The figure above shows a model of the existing UPSV.

What is Team Kanaloa?

Team Kanaloa is a multidisciplinary research lab aimed at developing unmanned marine systems. Our team consists of ten members, all of whom are senior year mechanical engineering students. The Unmanned Port Security Vessel (UPSV) is an existing maritime robot developed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the purpose of autonomously surveying ports for possible threats including those posed by unknown physical and chemical quantities in times of uncertainty such as a natural disaster or terrorist threat. After sitting in storage for years, many components on the UPSV have deteriorated and are out of date.

Meet the UPSV Project Team

Tabata “Tabby” Viso-Naffah, Project Manager

Tabby is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student expected to graduate in December 2021. She became a part of Team Kanaloa to pursue her interests in autonomous engineering, marine crafts, and controls. Her experience as a project manager in past academic years, including the design of a smart fridge sensor and an autonomous gardening weeding robot, led her to becoming the current UPSV team’s project manager. Tabby is most looking forward to applying her skills in mechatronics to the UPSV’s guidance and navigation system.

Damion Kaholo, Chief Engineer

Damion Kaholo is a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He was born and raised on the Island of Hawaii, in a small country town named Kohala. His father owned a construction company and Damion would spend his weekends on the job sites learning the proper use of tools and looking over the drafting documents. This fascination led Damion to doing his own design projects, such as modeling a gazebo and importing it into a VR headset allowing the user to be immersed with the model before it has been built. Through the projects Damion has been a part of he has learned how to program in multiple languages such as C++, Python, and MATLAB. He has also become familiar with multiple CAD programs such as Inventor, Fusion 360, SketchUp, and SolidWorks. Damion has chosen to be a part of Team Kanaloa hoping to expand his knowledge on autonomous marine robotics and apply his skills in designing to the UPSV.

Jeremy Miller, System Integrator

Jeremy is a senior mechanical engineering student expected to graduate with a BS degree in December of 2021. In 2019, he graduated from Cabrillo Community College with associates degrees in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics and Liberal Arts. During his time at Cabrillo, he was Vice-President of the Aerospace Engineering Club where we designed, built and flew R/C airplanes. Concurrently, he was also a STEM center tutor focused on Engineering, Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry subjects. He joined team Kanaloa in 2021 to take advantage of the University of Hawai`i’s unique and exemplary geographical location, to collaborate with peers and build professional relationships, as well as to further enhance his technical knowledge and abilities related to Marine Robotics and the engineering design process. His goal after graduation is to become an engineer in the field of high-performance, hybridized, personal transportation vehicles and his experience with team Kanaloa will be invaluable to all of his future endeavors.

Richard Choi, Finance Manager, and Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Subsystem Engineer

Richard is a senior at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He joined Team Kanaloa to gain experience with the GNC aspect of the project. Richard also was part of two other projects, The Absurdly-Complicated Ovoid Extraction Rally and Autonomous Electric Vehicle System. Richard also has experience with finance at his current business his family owns.

Trystan Freitas, Electrical Subsystem Engineer

Trystan is a senior at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. As a native Hawaiian raised in Nanakuli, Oahu, Trystan spent most of his days being in the ocean. He joined team Kanaloa to integrate his love for the ocean with his interests in robotics. Trystan has been a part of other projects where he gained experience in design softwares such as Solidworks and AutoCAD. He also has experience in programming using languages such as MATLAB, Python, and C.

Damian Bustamante, Electrical Subsystem Engineer

Damian is a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Prior to enrolling at Manoa, he took many classes related to engineering, including CAD and blueprint drawing, and woodshop. Damian grew up using a multitude of tools, ranging from hammers and electric drills to sheet metal presses and table saws. He joined team Kanaloa to gain experience working with robotics design and marine vessels.

John Sadorra, Interoperability Subsystem Engineer

John is a senior mechanical engineering undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He works at the university as a CAD operator, so he has experience in design software such as AutoCAD. He also has taken part in projects during his time in school which helped him accumulate skills in the field such as coding and 3D design in Fusion 360. Growing up, John has always found the ocean to be his second home being raised on the tiny island of Guam out in Micronesia. Taking part in the Kanaloa project, he hopes to learn more about the ocean through autonomous surface vessels.

Nicole Zahar, Mechanical Subsystem Engineer

Nicole is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is a member of the Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering Mentorship Program to search for opportunities to gain firsthand experience within the engineering field. She researched with Hawaii Space Flight Laboratory to test the functionality of NEUTRON-1 satellite sensor called the Star Tracker. She also researched with the Human Robot Interaction Lab in summer 2019 to continue prior work to construct a turning system designed for children with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). During Fall 2020, she gained an interest in the Coral Reef Nursery Project to help sustain the environment for future generations. This semester, she became a part of Team Kanaloa with her interest of the ocean and robotics, continues working with the Coral Reef Nursery Team, has an internship with Pearl Harbor and gains working knowledge of SolidWorks and MATLAB. Nicole has further developed her research/internship experience throughout her college career. During this project, she hopes to gain further knowledge of unmanned surface vessels and how it operates, as well as the operation of the team from subsystem to subsystem to have a successful project.

Dylan Tomi, Mechanical Subsystem Engineer

Dylan is a senior mechanical engineering undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He first developed an interest in engineering after participating in his middle and high school robotics team. After graduating, he continues to visit as an alumni mentor, guiding students through 3D design in Fusion 360. Dylan chose to join Team Kanaloa because he had experience with marine robotics from high school. Working on the restoration of the UPSV will further develop my knowledge of marine vehicles. Following graduation, Dylan hopes to find employment working with larger vessels, such as the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

Ava DeLorenzo, Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) Subsystem Engineer

Ava DeLorenzo is a senior year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and is slated to graduate December 2021. Ava grew up around building sites where she would accompany her father who was a general contractor. She always had an interest in “how things work”, and this along with her strong STEM skills led her to pursue Mechanical Engineering. As an undergraduate she worked as a peer mentor and has consistently made the Dean’s list. Ava’s love of the ocean and strong interest in autonomous systems made joining team Kanaloa a perfect fit.

Our Project

2D Three-Axis Stationkeeping

Problem

The current UPSV motor configuration is set up for differential thrust, and the two motor mounts located in the rear of the vessel (see figure below) are damaged and need to be redesigned / replaced. This design is sufficient for remote controlled driving, but not capable of precision yaw motion, a necessity for two-dimension three-axis stationkeeping, which would allow the UPSV to stay in one spot while conducting bathymetry tests.

Solution

The team has designed a new drive configuration, from the existing fixed differential thrust requiring only stern motors, to a fixed differential primary drive with the stern motors and newly introduced transverse bow thrusters. This new drive configuration gives the ability to maintain position by controlling the three degrees of freedom: surge, yaw, and sway. The stern motors’ orientation and positioning remain the same, located and attached to the back of the hulls, for control in the surge and yaw direction. The bow motors are oriented perpendicular to the hulls, giving the UPSV the ability to perform stationkeeping, and are attached to the hulls using the bow motor mounts for control in the sway direction. The stern motor mount design can be seen highlighted in blue in the figure below and consists of 3 components: a clamp, a top bracket, and a bottom support.

The clamps, which were readily available in lab storage, were designed for the Minn Kota 55lbs motors and hold the motor shafts in place. The clamps sit on top of the brackets and are secured using tightening screws. The bracket (Figure A) was designed based on the clamp dimensions and the bottom support (Figure B) was added to reduce movement of the motor in situations where the UPSV experiences motions such as swaying or rocking. Each bracket uses a rectangular aluminum tube supported by two aluminum corner brackets and an aluminum base plate. These materials were chosen as they are corrosion resistant, can withstand the required forces, and are readily available. The bottom support is fabricated from fiberglass and is tightened around the motor shaft. The bottom support is attached to the hull by sliding into a redesigned fiberglass back plate.

The bow motor mount design can be seen highlighted in blue in the figure below and consists of 3 components: a mounting bracket, a fiberglass collar, and the T200 motor itself.

The mounting brackets are composed of aluminum angle brackets and will be permanently bolted to the top of the hulls. The T200 thrusters will be secured to the hulls using fiberglass collars which will be fabricated by using the hulls as base molds. These collars will slide onto and wrap around the hulls and will be secured to the UPSV using the aluminum angle brackets. The T200 thrusters are oriented perpendicular to the hulls to grant the UPSV the ability to perform 2D 3-axis stationkeeping. To increase the hydrodynamics of the T200 thrusters, a curved 3D printed surface will be attached to each side of the motors, this surface can be seen highlighted in yellow below.

Sensor Mounting

Autonomous Waypoint Navigation, Obstacle Detection, and Avoidance

Problem

The UPSV must be capable of moving autonomously around busy waterways, including detecting obstacles and adjusting its trajectory to avoid crashes. It must also be capable of transmitting data to and from a ground-station via a wireless transmission system.

Solution

The UPSV will have a computer system on-board that allows it to drive to points of interest and map out its own trajectory. This will make it inherently safer than a manned survey vessel as there are no individuals on board, meaning that dangerous areas can be accessed more safely. It is highly economical because of the drastic drop in labor costs without the need for human surveyors, and running since it will run on batteries, fuel costs are eliminated all together and it has a lower environmental impact. The team has also decided to utilize a LiDAR camera on-board; this will allow the UPSV to see boats, structures, buoys, and other obstacles, so it can avoid crashes and safely drive around busy waterways. The mounting design for the camera is still under development.

The system will consist of an Intel Nuc 11 Pro Kit computer equipped with a GPS sensor, IMU sensor, LiDAR, and two wireless transmission systems. The GPS sensor, an Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout V3, will be used to measure the vessel’s global positioning. The IMU sensor, an Adafruit BNO-055, will be used to measure the vessel’s orientation. The LiDAR, a Velodyne Puck, will be used to conduct laser-based 2 dimensional simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and enable the detection of obstacles.

The figure below shows how information, commands, and algorithms will flow through the proposed GNC system.

The high-bandwidth WiFi wireless transmission system will consist of two routers (ASUS RT-N12/D1), two access points (Ubiquiti Rocket Prism AC Gen 2), and two antennas: an onboard omnidirectional antenna (airMAX Omni 5GHz 13dBi) and a ground-station sector antenna (airMAX Sector 5GHz 90° 20dBi). This high-bandwidth wireless transmission system will be used to send large amounts of data, such as the real time mapping from the LiDAR. According to other teams in Kanaloa who use the same WiFi system, the total expected range of this transmission system is 1 kilometer. The low-bandwidth radio wireless transmission system will consist of two Adafruit Feather RFM95 LoRa Radio Transceivers, and two whip antennas. This low-bandwidth wireless transmission system will be used to send small amounts of data (serial data), such as readings from the GPS and IMU sensors. The total expected range of this low-bandwidth wireless transmission system is 5 kilometers.

Shown below is the architecture of the proposed UPSV wireless transmission systems, depicting the WiFi system (left) and LoRa radio system (right).

Power System

Problem

The UPSV’s existing power system is outdated and the batteries are missing and must be replaced. The original design of the batteries consisted of three separate lithium ion batteries, two to power the computing system and one to power the thrusters all located atop the center platform. The new system must meet our stakeholder’s requirement of a 3 hour runtime for field tests and missions.

Solution

The new design will use four lead acid batteries to power all components and will now be located in the fore section of the hull’s interior. The original cooling system consisted of a simple radiator and fan assembly and the redesign is still currently in the research stage due to the relocation of components into the hulls and the requirement for the fully assembled hulls to fit inside of the shipping containers. A vibration isolation system was not initially considered but was determined necessary following the team’s first field test, as was the decision to relocate a number of electronics to the interior of the hulls.

Unfortunately, the minimum operational runtime of three hours will likely not be achievable and will need to be held off for future implementation by Team Kanaloa members due to the current lack of funds. Since there are two lead acid batteries available in the RIP Lab, funds were instead prioritized to other essential electrical components.

The two Minn Kota and two T200 motors require a minimum of 12V and 1550W to operate, the most of any of the other components. To prevent the motors from starving the rest of the electronics of power, the vessel will have four deep-cycle lead acid batteries. This is shown below in the proposed power distribution flow chart.

Since the motors and in turn the motor controllers have a high power draw, they will also generate a proportionally high amount of heat. The motor controllers will be installed inside a housing in a location which absorbs, transfers and dissipates this heat to the interior of the hulls where the cooling system is responsible for dissipating this heat to the environment. The surrounding air and water will be sufficient to cool the motors. In case the vessel malfunctions, several implemented failsafes will be utilized. This includes two programmed failsafes: a shutdown command from the remote control, and a lost-connection shutdown; as well as two physical shutdown “kill switch” buttons installed externally on the UPSV. As shown above, the redundant kill switches will ensure that either kill switch will be capable of completely shutting down motor operation.

Under ideal conditions, the motor power supply will need to run at a nominal 12 volts and store a minimum of 4873 watt-hours of energy in order to run the propulsion motors and wireless transmitter at full load over the span of three hours.

To ensure that all electronics stay dry and operable when located much closer to the waterline, all components will be placed inside of IPX7 rated containers that are properly sized to be easily installed and removed from the hulls for troubleshooting and repair purposes. Along with the electronics, the batteries will also be relocated from the center platform to the fore section of each hull and as close to the keel line as possible. This will also require, at minimum, a splash shield to protect the terminals from contact with seawater. The greatest benefit from the batteries in this location will be the added stability when traversing through the littoral zones of the ocean. To reduce the amount of wires running through the hulls, the electronic boxes will be placed directly above the batteries and to reduce the chance of contact with water, not directly below the lids of each respective hull.

Shown below is a model of the port electrical box, splash shield, and two batteries inside of the hull.

To increase robustness of the electronics, a vibration damper will be installed to support the interior electronics boxes above the batteries. The vibration damper will consist of a sheet of 13mm thick, closed cell, neoprene rubber attached to the bottom of each electronics box. The other vibration dampers considered were rubber stand-offs that would attach at the sides or on the bottom of the electrical boxes as well as a suspension net that would imitate the electrical box “floating” inside of the hulls. The neoprene rubber was chosen due to its simplistic design, weight, and medium level damping capabilities compared to the other options. The rubber standoffs would be too dense for the lightweight electronics box and would likely not dampen enough vibration. The suspension net wouldn’t restrict the movement enough and may eventually lead to a wiring/connector issue. Each box will be secured atop the battery splash shield which will be secured to the vertical fiberglass flaps that run the length of the bottom of each hull.

Shown below is a model of the port electrical box secured on top of the battery splash shield (green) with neoprene pads at each corner all located above two lead acid batteries.

A cooling system will be implemented to reduce the interior temperature of the hulls that house many sensitive electronics. The most crucial component was determined to be the Intel NUC as it requires the lowest maximum operating temperature of all electronics, 50°C. The cooling system has still yet to be determined as calculations are complex and unverified with experimental values/testing. Considerations for the cooling system are a fan and radiator assembly for each hull or an aluminum heat sink that passes through the bottom of each hull to contact cool ocean water.

Two physical kill switches will be installed on each side of the vessel in easily accessible locations. The switches will be wired to interrupt the power supply to all motors and motor controllers when either switch is depressed. Lastly, an LED indicator system will be implemented for the purpose of visually confirming whether the vessel is in a killed or unkilled state as well as reporting the state of charge of the on-board batteries. It is desired to mount the LED indicators as high as possible to ensure constant visual contact and therefore will be mounted on the wireless pole mount just below the omnidirectional antenna.

Vessel Transportation

Problem

The UPSV measures about 7 feet long and 5 feet wide. Therefore it is easy to transport around the island by trailer. However, the trailer used by our team is too big for the UPSV. Due to budget constraints, the team cannot afford to buy a new trailer.

Solution

The preliminary design planned for either renting a UHAUL vehicle or building an attachment for the trailer that Kanaloa already has. The team opted for building a trailer attachment in which the UPSV can be fastened. One requirement of the attachment design was that there needed to be enough space underneath the UPSV to fit a dinghy boat (or chase boat) for all Kanaloa field tests. This attachment is also meant to be robust, reliable, modular, and cost-effective compared to renting a vehicle to transport. One of the best features of the attachment is the ability to be attached and detached for a quick switch between the WAM-V and the UPSV.

A model of the design is shown below, followed by the constructed trailer attachment in the lab during validation tests.

Materials were chosen based on budget and the results of the FEA in which the trailer attachment consisted of ten 2 x 4 prime whitewood studs, a 4” Schedule 80 10’ PVC, galvanized face-mount, smooth-shank HDG connector nails, Philips Bugle-Head screws, zinc plated hex bolts, zinc plated jam nuts, zinc plated washer, and wood glue. The attachment was securely fastened with ratchet straps the RIP lab already had in stock for use.

After a successful trip on the trailer during the team’s first field test, the trailer attachment proved it can withstand the forces while being transported as well as keep the UPSV secured and safe. The concerns the team had after the test were the padding and longevity of the attachment. For padding, the subsystem had to temporarily use towels to pad the points with which the hulls made contact. A proposed solution to this is to install trailer roll carpet on the wood where the hulls would make contact. A roll is 11” x 12’ and would be enough to cover the parts needed by cutting parallel to the long side in half and would need to be cut in half again. It would be four lengths in total which would be 5 1/2 “ x 60”. As for longevity, the trailer will be painted since wood is hygroscopic. This means that it loses or gains moisture depending on the relative humidity of the surrounding air causing it to expand or shrink. The paint that will be used will be a Rust-Oleum marine coatings topside paint which will make the wood water-resistant and flexible to weather and storage conditions. This will also increase its resistance to cracking, chipping, peeling, and rotting.

Success Criteria

Last updated on Saturday May 8, 2021

Spring 2021 Timeline

Milestone 3 included the preliminary selection of the Sensor System, Propulsion System, and Motors. Milestone 4 included the completion of the Final Design Selection (part of the critical path). Milestone 5 marked the completion of the transportation concept selection. Milestone 6 marked the team’s preparation to conduct Field Test 0 (critical path), where the existing hulls, crossbars, and platform will be assembled for the first time by the team and tested in water. This milestone was delayed by one week due to the manufacturing of the trailer attachment. The next critical path item —the preliminary testing of already acquired components— took place by Milestone 7, concurrently with Milestone 6. This milestone also marked the completion of the non-critical electrical testing plan, as well as two ME481 course deliverables (Sales Pitch and Wiki), although the Field Test did bring up some design concerns that affected the Electrical subsystem. For this reason, Milestone 8 which includes the Final System Design (critical path) and the determination of lead times for purchasing, acquiring, manufacturing, and 3D printing components, is not yet completed at this time. Milestone 9 marks the ME481 course deadline for the Comprehensive Design Review (submitted on time, by May 7, 2021). By Milestone 10, the team will have ordered components (critical path).

As of May 8, 2021, the team is slightly behind schedule according to the projected timeline. In addition to finalizing the system design selection, the team still needs to determine how to acquire the necessary funds to purchase the components.

Fall 2021 Timeline

Milestone 11 includes the completion of a motor mounts prototype (critical path), as well as preliminary testing, 3D printing, and ordering additional components. Milestone 12 includes the completion of a power distribution prototype (critical path) and wireless transmission system prototype (critical path), as well as troubleshooting and preliminary vision system simulations testing. Milestone 13 includes the completion of a vision system lab prototype (critical path) and Field Test 1 (critical path). In this field test, the power, motor mounts, and wireless transmission systems will be tested while using remote motor control from ground station (no autonomous navigation). By this time, we will also have conducted further troubleshooting and preliminary path planning simulations tests.

Milestone 14 includes Field Test 2 (critical path), where the obstacle detection vision system will be tested, once again using remote motor control from ground station (no autonomous navigation). Further troubleshooting will be conducted. Milestone 15 includes secondary path planning simulations testing. Milestone 16 includes our final critical path item, Field Test 3, in which the UPSV will be tested with a full GNC system for the first time. Further troubleshooting will be conducted. With this projected timeline, the team expects to have a month to use as buffer time and close out the project before graduation in December 2021.

Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) is split into 5 phases: Research, Design, Manufacturing, Testing, and Mission Operation as seen below. The tasks under each phase are color-coded based on the status the team is currently in. The green tasks have been completed, the yellow tasks are currently work in progress, and the blue tasks are projected to work next semester, Fall 2021, for ME 482.

For the Mechanical Subsystem, the Research and Design phases have been completed in search of determining what motor thrust is needed using wave force calculations, motors with the required amount of thrust to move in the surge and yaw direction, the different drive motor orientations to move in the sway direction, requirements and constraints pertaining to the structure of the UPSV, storing, and design concepts, as well as what materials are needed for our prototypes. Risk analysis, risk mitigations, and design analysis were performed to finalize the designs, and the materials needed for manufacturing are in progress for the upcoming motor mount assemblies. A structure test with the stern motors, but without the electronic components, has been completed with our Field Test 0 that has led us to pressure testing the hulls. Further testing will be implemented prior to the phase of mission operations, such as validation tests of the bow and stern motors and their respective motor mounts as well as the platform. After all tests have been completed, the final assembly would be able to be launched with some analysis on the UPSV’s performance. The critical path is projected to take 64 days. The Mechanical subsystem WBS is shown below.

For the GNC subsystem, research on ROS and long range wireless transmission is still underway. Otherwise, components for the computing system, waypoint navigation and 2D SLAM system, and both long and short range transmission systems have been selected. The LiDAR mount design has also been finalized. At this point in time, the GNC subsystem is ready to purchase components and begin the complex and exciting process of modeling and testing the vessel’s computer system, including the development of the GPS-IMU system for determining the UPSV’s position and orientation. No testing has been done in this subsystem, as the components are still needed. The critical path is expected to take 60 days, so there are several weeks of buffer time for highly anticipated troubleshooting for this subsystem. The GNC subsystem WBS is shown below.

For the Electrical subsystem, research on the energy requirements has been completed. Power requirements were taken from technical documents for each electrical component and combined to determine the total energy required to power the UPSV at maximum load. This value was compared to the energy stored in lead-acid batteries to determine the number of batteries required to meet the energy requirements. Due to changes in requirements for the electrical subsystem, a cooling system was deemed necessary to prevent components in the hull from overheating. The manufacturing phase will consist of reassessing inventory, ordering components, and assembling prototypes for electrical assets necessary for the vessel. Further tests must be performed such as thermal heat testing which the electrical subsystem has started and is currently in progress. Other upcoming tests involve battery capacity and discharge, overall system runtime, and an ingress protection test. The only test that was confirmed so far was during the Field Test 0 where the safety kill switch was observed to be fully functional. After all tests have been completed, the final configuration for electrical components would be done to power all UPSV components. The critical path is projected to take 68 days. The Electrical subsystem WBS is shown below.

For the Interoperability subsystem, research on systems engineering has been completed as this is important in how the subsystem handles its singular role of a system integrator to a whole subsystem. Calculations on forces needed for components such as the trailer attachment and the new platform has been confirmed along with the requirements and constraints of these components. Final design concepts have also been completed for the trailer attachment and the new platform. Risk analysis and mitigation using FMEA and FEA have been used to confirm these design concepts. As for manufacturing, the assembly of the trailer attachment has been completed as shown and demonstrated during the Field Test 0. The only thing left to manufacture is the platform which parts would need to be ordered and assembled. When all tests have been completed for anything that IO can assist with, the final assembly and launch can happen to analyze the results. IO will have an important role in analyzing the overall results of the launch for creating a thorough SOP and documentation. The IO subsystem WBS is shown below.

Funding

The total cost of the full UPSV project is roughly $4,600.59 which includes a 20% margin buffer of $766.77. The team has outlined the cost of the project by subsystem and component as shown in the table below.

The Financial Manager calculated the total cost of each component in order to distinguish heavier costs. As shown in the pie chart below, the GNC system is currently the most expensive subsystem of the project, accounting for approximately 46.4% of the budget. The most expensive systems from GNC include the high-bandwidth, short range wireless transmission system ($945.37) and the computing system ($586.99). On the other hand, the Interoperability subsystem is the least expensive, accounting for only about 8.3% of the budget, because the trailer attachment cost only $209.23 to build.

We currently receive $2,000 from the RIP Laboratory at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In addition to these funds, the team is currently in communication with a potential sponsor to receive an $800.00 donation, which would significantly reduce the budget cost needed to fund the project. This generous donation would reduce the necessary funds to $1800.59.

Because the GNC system is the most expensive, the members devised a plan to reduce the total cost of their subsystem by temporarily borrowing the Ubiquiti WiFi transmission system from MRUH (another Kanaloa vessel) instead of purchasing one specifically for the UPSV. The components could be easily replaced when the funds are available in the future. This would save the UPSV team $945.37. With this revision and the generosity of our possible sponsor, the necessary funds would be reduced to $666.14. To accommodate the funds needed, the team also devised a new plan to receive the remaining funds by doing fundraisers, such as a summer car wash, and plan to further research grant opportunities and sponsorships.

At this point in time, the lack of funds is the most critical aspect of the project.

In addition to helping fund our research and development, your support would give us the opportunity continue our hands-on project experience and promote our growth as young engineers. A donation to our project would be tax deductible, and we would feature your logo on our boats, presentations, and research publications. We greatly appreciate your time and interest, and would be more than happy to answer any questions. Mahalo!

Recent Work: Field Test 0 (April 23, 2021)

Preparation for Field Test 0

Aloha! For more information about our project, please send our Project Manager, Tabby, an email by clicking here.

You can also get in touch with our professor and supervisor, Dr. Trimble, by clicking here. Mahalo!