All previous years of TartanAUV all in one place! Take a look at our progress throughout the years and how we've set out to make improvements across the board. If you want to learn more, you can view our design reports for details on how our vehicles work!
During the 2023 season, we made strides in updating our research vehicle. TartanAUV's 2023 competition appearance showcased our vehicle's mobility and capability boasting our mechanical design , improved localization systems, and controls. After attempting every task the autonomy challenge has to offer, TartanAUV achieved 11th place.
Designed in 2020, Kingfisher is fabricated from water-jet and 5-axis CNC machined aluminum, welded steel, and acrylic tubing. Kingfisher was designed with the ability to complete all RoboSub competition tasks, equipped with a full navigation and mapping sensor stack.
Designed in 2023, Albatross is fabricated from CNC machined plastics and acrylic tubing. Albatross is meant to double as a research platform for future controls and sensor fusion work while completing simpler RoboSub competition tasks alongside Kingfisher.
Learn MoreDuring the 2022 season, Kingfisher took to the water for the first time. TartanAUV's 2022 competition appearance showcased a complete redevelopment of our AUV hardware and software platforms. Attempting the coin flip, gate, buoy, and bin tasks, Kingfisher earned CMU the 3rd place Autonomy challenge title.
Due to the COVID pandemic, there was no RoboSub competition. During this time, the team continued to manufacture Kingfisher components and worked in simulation to develop the motion planning and perception stacks.
During the 2020 season, TartanAUV debuted our second vehicle, Kingfisher. Taking lessons from our previous competition experience with Albatross, we designed our new vehicle with the future in mind: a high competition performance ceiling as enabled by a large electronics hull, modular mounting systems, external sonar, DVL, and camera mounting, and extensible rails. These design choices facilitated future development on all fronts, leaving room for the mechanical, electrical, and software teams to build out systems over the next few years.
Founded during the 2018-19 academic year, TartanAUV participated in the 2019 RoboSub competition for the very first time with our vehicle, Albatross. Designed with simplicity and education in mind, Albatross served as a launchpad for our team to learn about designing for underwater robotics, AUV motion planning, sensor fusion, and simulation.
