Seniors Anuj Sehgal and Jason Kadarusman received recognition in the seventh international autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) competition in San Diego held in August.
Their robot, L.U.V. (low-cost underwater vehicle), successfully completed an obstacle course, a feat that not all entries were able to accomplish, and won one of five awards - $1000 for the lightest and most inexpensive robot.
The course was to navigate through a validation gate, head towards a blinking LED light, drop a small marker into a nearby bin, track a sonar ping, and resurface within a marked off recovery zone.
Most of the universities that participated in the competition were Ivy League schools with experienced teams that conduct research with first-rate facilities and budgets of thousands of dollars. The BYU-Hawaii team, on the other hand, put together their robot with $600.
"A lot of money and good facilities don't necessarily mean you have the best ideas," said Leslie Fife, assistant professor of computer science and one of two faculty supervisors of the project. "Sometimes the simplest ideas work out really well. I was very pleased in the end with what they were able to accomplish as a team of two with a tight schedule and a small budget. And the award of $1000 for lightest robot was a pleasant surprise."
"Winning the award for the lightest underwater vehicle was a great surprise to both Jason and myself," said Sehgal, "but we feel it was a well deserved award since we had to work extremely hard to keep the robot light and inexpensive.
"Our AUV displayed proof that underwater vehicles need not be very complicated and high-tech; simplicity works the best," Sehgal continued. "Our achievement of making an AUV that weighed only 20 pounds and cost only $600 changes the way the engineering community now looks upon AUV problems."
True to Sehgal's word, the weight limit for next year's competition has been dropped from 140 pounds down to 60 pounds. This opens doors for hobby-robotics and researchers with lower funding to design and experiment with AUVs.
This was the first independently funded project from the School of Computing; however, considering the success of the project, it probably won't be the last.
"We really didn't know what to expect the first time," Fife said. "I had never participated in this type of competition before, and neither has the CS department here at BYU-Hawaii. But now that we have done this, we have a baseline to work forward from.
"[Sehgal and Kadarusman] started our future involvement in the AUV competition on a solid foundation, and I expect improved performance next year," Fife continued. "The plan is to move forward and involve more students in future years as the AUV competition becomes a regular event for our department."
"I believe that the notes that we brought back for next year's team will help," Kadarusman added. "I am sure if they take the notes into consideration in preparing for next year, they will at least place and still have the lightest robot. The CS department has many talented and bright minds that will make a difference in next years competition."
Of course, the purpose of the project is not only to win the competition. Fife emphasized the scholastic and career benefits of the creative process.
"From an educational standpoint, this is very important," he said. "To get something like the AUV to work requires the synthesis and integration of many areas of computer science. Students that work on a project like this out of class learn a lot. This will enhance the education of those involved and may also lead to improved employment and graduate school opportunities."
"The competition was an excellent learning experience. We're applying everything we learned in the classroom," said Sehgal. "We were also able to learn more about electronics, computer science, robotics and some key principles of engineering. Moreover, the competition provided us with a lot of practical experience and taught us how to think and act under pressure."
Sehgal and Kadarusman also had other reasons for participating in the international competition.
"We wanted to be able to create a name and image for the university and the computer science department. It would be nice to have BYU-Hawaii looked upon by outsiders as developers of cutting edge technology," Sehgal said. "Up to now, people have known BYU in Provo to have technology departments, but BYU-Hawaii has only been considered a liberal arts college. This victory is a big achievement for all the students and faculty members of the department because it proves to the international engineering community that even though we might lack resources here, we still have first rate skills available that can also innovate technology."
The technology that these robots use to operate is ultimately used to inspect underwater pipeline, mechanical, or electrical systems and explore deep-sea marine life and ship wreckage, explained Fife.
"We have also submitted some conference papers on the algorithms developed and the robot design," he said. "Hopefully we will be in Singapore in December presenting this research."