Students from the Scientific Circle “Robocik” are working on a new version of an autonomous submarine robot, with which they want to enter in an international competition in the USA. The new model will be larger and equipped with more engines and a completely new manipulator

- Work in the construction department started the fastest and now we have a fully-fledged boat model and frame. A prototype of the manipulator is already being prepared, and tests on the swimming pool of the Academy of Physical Education will soon begin. As they continue, we will put the entire boat together and prepare for the official premiere - says Wiktor Paluch, President of the Scientific Circle.

The new boat will be bigger and will surely attract the attention of observers with its futuristic looks. This is mainly due to practicalities - the issue of water resistance and the changed way of placing electronics inside the hull.

The construction will also be slightly lighter and equipped with a bigger number of engines - four for horizontal movement and four for vertical movement. The manipulator has also been completely modified and will now be mounted at the top of the boat.

The frame of the boat was made of polypropylene and glass fibre was used to strengthen it. This will make the structure much lighter than one made of aluminium, and thanks to the properties of polypropylene and the boat’s shape there will be no risk losing stability. - According to our calculations, the construction can withstand the pressure at a depth of 100 m. Even so, the competition takes place in a pool with a maximum depth of 15 m, so there shouldn't be any problems with it - says Wiktor Paluch.

When working on the new boat, the students of course benefit from the experience gained last year. - The new look of the robot is the result of what was imperfect about the previous project. We have also drawn conclusions about the electronic solutions, and we continue to develop our simulation environment, for which we won a special award a year ago - adds the President of the Scientific Circle.

It is already known that the RoboSub competition will take place in San Diego from July 29 to August 4, and its main theme will be vampires. However, the competition rules and the list of tasks will not be published until April.

Meanwhile, recruitment to the team has begun, with lovers of programming, design and construction, electronics and marketing sought for cooperation.

More information about the Scientific Circle “Robocik” can be found on Facebook.