Perception and positioning
A ZED 2i stereo camera supplied object detections and depth. The Hemisphere GNSS receiver provided position and heading, while a hydrophone listened for acoustic signals beneath the surface.
Rotatable view of the supplied USV 1.0 assembly in its November 2024 configuration, without the aircraft aboard.
Use your mouse or trackpad: drag to rotate, scroll to zoom.Drag to rotate. Pinch to zoom. With the model focused, use arrow keys to rotate, + or - to zoom, Home to reset, and Escape to leave the model.
- Actuated axes
- 2
- Total thrust
- 120 kgf
- Supply voltage
- 48 V
- Pack capacity
- 60 Ah
- Energy at 48 V
- 5.8 kWh
- RTK positioning
- 4 cm
Surge and yaw
2 × 60 kgf, rated
Nominal propulsion supply
Two independent E60 packs
Calculated, both packs
TDR-listed receiver spec
How it works.
Propulsion and control
Two Navy 3.0 Evo thrusters drove the hull and turned it through differential thrust. The CubeOrangePlus controlled speed and heading, with custom engine pods supporting the motors at the stern.
Power and protection
Each thruster had its own 48 V battery. Converters supplied lower-voltage electronics, and remotely controlled relays could isolate propulsion power. A shelf beneath the payload tray housed the protected electronics.
Communications
Ubiquiti radios linked the boat’s computer to shore. The ground station brought vehicle status into one display for troubleshooting, while a separate handheld controller allowed the operator to take manual control.
Onboard autonomy
The onboard Jetson processed camera detections for waypoint planning. Detections had to persist across frames before use; the planner combined curved approaches and obstacle-aware routes with the low-level steering controller.
Payload handling
A four-rod docking mechanism was designed to secure the UAV during transit. A separate flywheel launcher used a drum reload mechanism to feed racquetballs for delivery from the surface vehicle.
What’s on board.
Platform
- WAM-V catamaran hull
- Custom stern engine pods
- Electronics shelf beneath the payload tray
Propulsion
- 2 × ePropulsion Navy 3.0 Evo thrusters
- Parallel motors with differential thrust
- RS485 battery and motor status monitoring
Power system
- 2 × ePropulsion E60 batteries, 60 Ah each
- Hexsoon power distribution board
- 24 V, 12 V and 7 V DC conversion
Control system
- CubeOrangePlus controller
- PID control of yaw rate and velocity
- L1 waypoint following
Navigation
- Hemisphere R632 GNSS and A25 antenna
- 0.01° heading, TDR-listed receiver spec
- M9N backup GPS on the Cube
Onboard computer
- NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX
- Seeed reComputer J4012
Perception sensors
- Stereolabs ZED 2i stereo camera
- YOLO detection with stereo depth
- Detection persistence across frames
Acoustics
- Teledyne RESON TC4013 hydrophone
- Acoustic signal frequency detection
- Sound-emitter presence detection
Wireless communications
- Ubiquiti Rocket Prism 5AC with airMAX Omni
- Shore: Rocket 5AC with airMAX Sector
- Herelink telemetry and manual control
Payload systems
- Flywheel racquetball launcher
- Drum reload mechanism
- UAV dock with four stepper-driven clamps
Software
- ROS 1 Noetic on Ubuntu 20.04
- Dubins paths and A* obstacle avoidance
- MAVLink vehicle messaging
Safety and status
- 4-channel relay for emergency stop and lights
- Solid-state propulsion isolation relays
- Sealed electronics enclosures
Continue with USV 2.0.
A smaller surface build adds LiDAR, lateral thrust and water delivery for RobotX 2026.