Project update January 2021

Testing

With most major development projects completed, we have been ramping up our system-level testing efforts. We now have a good method to plan and manage these (sometimes) extensive test programs, which serve to both verify the performance and validate the design of our robot. Our current ‘test campaign’ ends when we demonstrate our robot autonomously completing a certain trajectory in a local lake. This thorough and systematic testing is a relatively new activity for us and has resulted from learnings of the previous prototype. We have encountered and solved 5 mysterious (sometimes almost absurdly mysterious) problems before the robot would even turn on. You can understand our excitement when the indicator light finally lit up

University fund grant & Sea Ranger Service partnership

In December, we pitched our project to the University Fund of TU Delft and won €13.500,- to help us reach the deep sea. We are excited for both these funds and the recognition; it has motivated us to work even harder to reach our goal. Expect to see a lot of media from both us and the TU Delft when we reach our first milestone soon (Follow us on Linkedin if you don’t already). After demonstrating capability in a local body of water, we will move to the North Sea for the first time, we expect to learn a lot there. Our North Sea testing will be made possible by the Sea Ranger Service, with whom we’ve joined forces to provide access to the difficult-to-reach underwater world that is locked under the waves. More information on our partnership will appear soon on our website and social media channels.

Highlights

Despite these trying times with increasingly strict measures, the LOBSTER team remains a place where we all learn a lot and have fun in the process. From goofy design oversights (assemblies that require a 4th spatial dimension to be put together) to wacky lunch brainstorms and intense games of (digital) Settlers of Catan. We hope that when summer arrives, the virus will die down, and we get to have a few beers together in the Botanical Garden behind Robovalley again.

Next steps

From halfway December we have been slowly but steadily going through our test program and we will have the robot in the swimming pool more and more, shifting the focus from hardware to software troubleshooting. When we are confident in its performance, it is time for the first outdoor tests. Concurrently, a lamp, a recovery module (with integrated GPS & Iridium), and a new battery system are developed, which will take a lot of testing as well.