Robots in Service of the Environment Internship
In the summer of 2023, I took a Mechanical Engineering Internship with Robots in Service of the Environment (RSE).
RSE works to combat invasive lionfish with an underwater robot which stuns and captures lionfish.
Buoyant Rescue System
As RSE begins to test their robot at deeper depths, they can no longer depend on divers rescuing the robot if it fails. I was paired with one of the senior engineers at RSE to design and build a rescue system for the robot.
We developed a buoyant system which fit into a 3.5" diameter tube. It contained a servo motor attached to a CO2 cartridge. The system was connected to the robot and would search for a "heartbeat" from the robot. If the robot died, it would inflate a balloon, allowing the robot to come to the surface.
I was responsible for CADing the entire system, creating a packaging which would keep it within the given tube, and building the system.