Information
Historically, Engineering Projects Society has taken part in the MATE ROV Competition (Explorer Class), which involves construction of an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle.
This project is all-encompassing, meaning we need all kinds of people to connect different structural, electrical and software subsystems. EPS Members of all experience levels are encouraged to join; we mainly value people’s commitment to the project, as well as their enthusiasm to not be afraid and to learn as they go along!
Our Progress
Most of our time over the 25-26 year has been spent on initial CAD development, part/material procurement, and establishing manufacturing pipelines within Newcastle University. Next, we want to start writing software and assembling an MVP, whilst also reaching out to sponsors who may wish to support the project.
Our Tools
We use Onshape for all of our CAD development. Onshape comfortably facilitates our development & versioning requirements, and being able to view our files at any time through the website/app is a gamechanger.
We have used KiCAD to design our field-oriented ‘FOC’ motor controllers, which will be used both to actuate the underwater arm whilst mirroring its movements to the surface side arm for force-feedback control.
We have begun early work on our surface-side computer GUI using Godot. The app will centralise all camera feeds and log data for easy-viewing. We will be using a headset and monitor to display this information to pilots and other team members.
Our People
All team design communications are public within our Discord Server, and those with the ROV Team role can speak in channels. Speak to any committee member if you are interested in joining the team! If the build is successful, you will have the opportunity to travel (usually to North America/Canada) and compete internationally with universities across the world.
ROV Pilot Demo
[CONTROLLER RECOMMENDED]
Click to load demo (~125MB)