How to make the underwater robot's buoyancy, posture and control

"Since the project development began in July last year, we have iterated a total of 7 prototypes, mainly because the structure of the product needs a lot of verification, so that the buoyancy, attitude and control of the underwater robot can be done step by step, so that the entire electromechanical system The key to stable operation is energy production.” Zhang Wei, founder and CEO of Shenzhen Sneak Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., said of the progress of their underwater robot project. They have now started shipping to the first batch of crowdfunding users, and will complete about 700 shipments in early September.

The first generation of underwater robot Gladius

Unusual underwater robot

The drone is derived from the model aircraft. There are many open source projects in the model, and there are very few open source projects for underwater robots. If you want to start an underwater robot, many designs need to start from scratch. “Our structural engineers have more than 20 years of experience in the design, development, production and testing of underwater carriers. I have been working on algorithms myself,” Zhang said. Coupled with the efforts of other hardware and software team members, the sneak innovation runs ahead of other underwater robot entrepreneurial teams, and is the first to achieve small batch production. "This year is the first year of underwater robots. There should be more manufacturers coming in." Yang Yang, sales director of Shenzhen Sneak Innovation Technology Co., Ltd., believes that Gladius, the first generation of underwater robots that sneaked in innovation, has many unique features, such as the 4-propeller scheme. “The stability of horizontal and pitch can be achieved by using four thrusters. It can be adjusted by itself to maintain the posture; and its zero buoyancy design, after turning off the power, can still be suspended in the water. If the vertical thruster is turned on, even if there is disturbance of the water flow, the balance of the machine itself can be maintained, and the user is convenient. Shooting. ”

For the application scenario, Yang Yang believes that in addition to the underwater photography of the diving and fishing enthusiasts of the consumer side, it can also be used for industrial applications such as external inspection of the bottom of the ship, fish farming, reservoir inspection, and scientific research. How to choose a supplier

Even the best products, if not energy production, are also empty. From prototype to mass production, there is still a long way to go. Underwater robots not only operate in fresh water, but also operate in seawater, so there is a high demand for water and corrosion resistance of the device. The choice of the supplier largely determines the difficulty of the project, and even directly determines the success or failure. "Of course, most of our devices have the same device requirements as consumer electronics, because we can't ask suppliers to develop a device specifically for us," Zhang said. "The only one with special requirements is the pressure sensor because This is direct contact with water." He believes that choosing a "reliable" supplier is the most critical. This reliable, including quality, word of mouth, delivery cycle and engineering cooperation. Yang Yang said, “In the beginning, we targeted some international and well-known suppliers. For example, our key pressure sensors have chosen large manufacturers such as TE Connectivity.” They use TE Connectivity (TE) pressure sensors. MS5837-30BA, a pressure sensor designed specifically for depth measurement systems. The sensor adopts a 1.8×0.8mm, O-ring seal design, which can accurately measure the water depth of 300 meters without the need for other protection, and the water depth resolution is 2mm. It also enables water depth and temperature measurement without the need for additional sensors.

TE pressure sensor for Gladius

How to avoid mass production stepping

One thing that is different from other products in the underwater robot project is that the supplier has no experience at all. "We have to take them to step on the pit and then solve it together. This challenge is still quite big." Zhang Wei said. He took the example of the simplest switch on the buoy. At first, it may be the reason why the communication is unclear. The switch provided to them by the switch supplier will be ineffective after being immersed in seawater. "If the product goes out to the customer, the damage to the product is fatal." "And TE has always done a good job, whether it is technical support or a very important delivery cycle for us." Zhang Wei evaluated TE in this way. “Speed ​​is crucial for a start-up company. The sooner you seize the market, the more you can stand firm and the more likely you are to win customers.” Currently, the innovative underwater robot products are mainly oriented to Markets including Europe, America, Australia, Southeast Asia and China.