Low-Cost Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

This project was undertaken as part of the Tanoto Research Competition at our university, where we developed a low-cost underwater vehicle (LOCAV) with controlled buoyant mechanics and a single motor, making it more energy efficient. Our innovation earned us a spot as a finalist in this prestigious competition.

Our goal was to create an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) that can effectively monitor coral reef conditions while being cost-effective and energy-efficient. Coral reef destruction poses a significant threat to ocean ecosystems and humanity, making scalable monitoring solutions essential. Sending people to monitor reefs directly is both costly and logistically challenging. LOCAV offers a solution by enabling monitoring in relatively shallow waters, covering wide areas with minimal energy consumption, and being affordable to manufacture.