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August 29, 2004 - This is
MicroSeeker, after running some calibration tests on the depth sensor at a
friend's pool. There have been many changes, including switching to a much
larger 12 volt battery, a new thruster motor, new propellor, etc.
MicroSeeker is able to dive autonomously now, and shortly I'll be posting
some video clips of another pool test we'll be running in a few days. |
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March 6, 2004 - Here's the front end cap for the
new "torpedo" design. It uses a standard servo to actuate the dive planes.
The rear end cap looks a lot like this one, but the fins are vertical, to
make the rudder, and it fastens to the main support plate for the
electronics. I still have to "fair" the fins, since they are basically
rectangular right now. I'll be rounding the front end, and feathering the
rear edge. |
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Here's the new "torpedo" design,
with front and rear end caps, and the new plate that supports the
electronics and the rudder servo. Coming out of the back of the rear end
cap is the motor tube, which has a motor that turns a single thruster. I'm
using a new seal from SubConcepts
for the thruster seal. |
Older Images
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Okay, here it is, ready to go into
the water to check for leaks. I've got the wings done, and the main CPU is
going to be a Dell Axim PDA, which already runs Squeak. |
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And finally, a top-down overview. |
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Not much has changed from this
view. Next things to get done are the wings.
You can barely see the hole where the tether plug used to be. In its
place, I have put the magnetic main power switch.
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It has a new, much more solid
chassis inside that supports everything quite nicely. The hardware control
circuit boards are in the front, and the Axis single-board computer is in
the back half.
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And no, this isn't mocked up. The
circuit boards are wired, the PIC micro-controller is actually running,
and reading heading, pitch, and roll from the compass. The blue LEDs are
power indicators, and the green and red ones are a pair of heartbeat
indicators.
The blue LED at the top, and the one on the bottom board, are for
electronics power. The blue LED to the right is the motor power indicator. |
