Long-range Microcontroller Submarine Explorer Robot

Rajamangala Universty of Technology’s Research Team Invents “Long-range Microcontroller Submarine Explorer Robot” for Marine ExplorationA research team led by Rajamangala Universtiy of Technolgy’s graduate student, Surasak Timpitak, invents submarine explorer robot using the microcontroller-based system design as part of a collaborative project with Massachusettes’ Institute of Technology (MIT).

The objective of the research is to develop a prototype that can be dispatched into the ocean and used to explore as well as collecting real datas on marine life, based on the small three-propeller explorer robot presented earlier at a workshop by the MIT team. With a research grant from Office of the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the team successfully put together the prototype and named it “Long-range Microcontroller Submarine Explorer Robot”.

The prototype features a practical design and an efficient navigation system. “It has four propellers and is controlled by a wired joystick using the microcontroller system,” says Surasak. The prototype also comes with sensors for water pressure, acceleration and inclination. It is also equipped with a video camera which can transmit real-time images as well as data on its current location and position to a computer monitor on land. The prototype robot can be dispatched as deep as 10 meters, in both fresh and sea water sources.

“This is an on-going research project. Our team will continue to work on the prototype in order to improve its performance efficiency,” Surasak says. The research team comprises himself, three undergraduate students: Teerapong Dirachit, Suksa Wongboonrueng and Kornvit Chantachai; and the project advisor, Dr. Pradya Prempraneerach, all from Department of Mechanical Engineering.