UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
MECHATRONICS DESIGN
ASSOCIATION
2014-2015 Infosession
WHO ARE WE?
• Design autonomous underwater vehicle/robotic
submarine
• Compete at annual International RoboSub
competition in San Diego
ROBOSUB COMPETITION?
• Underwater obstacle course in an anechoic sonar
testing pool – TRANSDEC
• Hosted by AUVSI + RoboNation in San Diego
• Held in a military naval base
• Universities and engineering companies from all
over the world
AUV DECOMMISSIONING
• Our Legacy AUV – AquaTux
AQUATUX SPECS AND KNOWN ISSUES
• Hull – hard to balance (ballasts)
• PVC-pipe frame
• 5 thrusters – 1 less degree of freedom
• Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)
• No automatic leak detection
• Netbook
TEAM BREAKDOWN
0. EXECUTIVE TEAM
• Administration, logistics, organization
1. MECHANICAL TEAM
• Hull, frame, component positioning/encasing
2. ELECTRONICS TEAM
• Design electronic components to drive the
submarine and accomplish required tasks
3. SOFTWARE TEAM
• Design high level task algorithms and low level
vision algorithms
Team Breakdown
MECHANICAL TEAM
WHAT THE TEAM COVERS
• Positioning of motors
• Placement of electronics within the submarine
• Framework for attaching additional peripherals
• Etc.
WHAT THE TEAM COVERS
SUBMARINE HULL
TORPEDO LAUNCHER
• Attached to the frame (or implemented to the
hull)
• Objective: launch projectile to hit designated
target
WHAT THE TEAM COVERS
MARKER DROPPER
• Drop markers into a target area
GRABBER
• Remove pegs from a board and put them back
HOW THE TEAM WORKS
WEEKLY MEETINGS
• Scheduled at the most convenient time
• Main goal: Brainstorming ideas and presenting progress
DESIGN SESSIONS/TUTORIALS (for people who are interested)
• CAD software – Solidworks, ANSYS, etc.
• 3D Printing
• Basic machining skills for submarine construction
Team Breakdown
ELECTRONICS TEAM
WHAT THE TEAM COVERS
ALL ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS INSIDE SUB
• Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)
• Batteries and Power Management Circuits
• Motor Driver Circuits
• Instrumentation and Acquisition Circuits
• Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and
Interfacing Circuits
• Internal Wiring and Connectors
THE FPGA
• Interfaces sensors with software
• Determines signals to send to thrusters with a lowlevel control system to stabilize motion
• Communicates with high-level software with simple
commands like get/set attitude
• Implements signal processing algorithms for
triangulating SONAR pinger
PLANNED PROJECTS
ANALOG
• Complete/fabricate SONAR acquisition board
• Debug and iterate upon design
• Modify motor driver board
• Design wiring system for new hull
DIGITAL
• Complete High-Speed Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI)
• Design SONAR signal processing system
• Integrate and debug with analog SONAR system
• Begin design of new control system
SKILLS YOU WILL DEVELOP
USE INDUSTRY-LEVEL CAD TOOLS FOR:
• Circuit Simulation and Schematic Capture
• PCB Layout
• Digital Logic design with Verilog HDL
HANDS-ON SKILLS
• Soldering surface mount components
• The art of circuit debugging
• Signal processing basics
• Digital logic debugging
Team Breakdown
SOFTWARE TEAM
WHAT THE TEAM COVERS
• Program onboard Linux netbook with C++
• Work with real-time data input from FPGA
• Image processing algorithms and procedures
• Artificial Intelligence
• Simulator
THE PLAN
NEW CODE ARCHITECTURE
• Logging
• Unit testing
• Design patterns
• MVC
• New simulator
• GUIs
• New vision algorithms
• OpenCV
• Graphics Card acceleration
HOW THIS TEAM WORKS
• GitHub Repository
• Fork and Pull Method
• Weekly meetings in an agile, scrum-like environment
MEMBER EXPECTATIONS
• Attend weekly and team-wide meetings
• Commit to the tasks you set out to do
• Communication
• Communication
• Communication
WHY JOIN?
• Apply in-class theory to real-life applications
• Learn lots of new and interesting technologies that
fit perfectly on your resume
• Interact with other universities and companies
• Talk to Alumni and PEY students
• Make new friends and expand your network!
QUESTIONS?
Stay around and check out our club room