Undergraduate engineering students in UC San Diego’s Yonder Deep student organisation are seeking to develop and 3D-print a completely autonomous, low-cost, modular underwater vehicle (AUV) that will make it possible for scientists to affordably collect oceanographic and climatic data.
According to an article published in UC San Diego Today, the organisation said it aims to create a torpedo-shaped AUV housing.
This housing is comprised of a full suite of instruments, including hydrophones, pressure gauges, and temperature gauges that can endure the icy waters of the Arctic as well as the rough coastal seas of Southern California.
The student team’s primary objective is to contribute to the quantification of glacier melt and the subsequent rise in sea level in a bid to address the challenge of getting research instruments that utilise advanced sensors within close proximity to glacier terminuses.
“3D printing is normally used for prototyping, but our unique designs and processes enable the use of more additive manufacturing, which are the main reasons why Yonder Deep’s strategy is so versatile and affordable,” said Daniel Ju, a mechanical engineering student, former president, and now a technical advisor and mechanical architect at Yonder Deep.
Yonder Deep leaders and mechanical engineering students Daniel Ju and Satchel Birch said designing their AUV to withstand this glacial environment presents some challenges, one of which is operating in the extremely cold conditions of the Arctic.
The group said it had to consider how the porous material’s water absorption would influence the object’s weight and buoyancy.
The researchers also had to research the 3D-printed material’s geometry, behaviour, and durability to see if it could resist such harsh conditions.
Instead of using conventional methods of manufacturing, Ju highlighted that their decision to 3D print is “what makes this project so fun because no one has done this type of work at this scale before.”
Currently working on their fourth prototype, the Yonder Deep team hopes to have their current AUV ready for intensive testing by the end of summer 2023.
Founded in 2017, Yonder Deep is an organization working towards developing a 3D-printed, low-cost AUV, which allows for the implementation of several sensor types for the purpose of oceanographic and climate change research.
