An Autonomous Surface Vessel: The missing piece in MBARI's robotic fleet

This is summer internship project at MBARI involving the development of an autonomous surface vessel to complement MBARI's fleet. Unique features such as roll control via ballast and interchangeable sensor pods make this vehicle ideal for automated oceanography. Originally from Willow Garage this vehicle is a collaboration with UCSC to bring a complete low-level control system to it with MBARI's TREX software providing high-level mission planning and task management. Long term goals include cross-vehicle task prioritization and AUV support in the form of communications and power supply.