2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Modification of a 1-Person Submarine for Remote Control Operation

Presented at Ocean and Marine Division (OMED) Technical Session 2

This Work in progress paper is about a 2300 pound, 1-person, 1-atmosphere, 8-foot submarine housed within a university aerospace/hydrospace lab. Built in 1999, the vehicle has required a certified diver as its pilot. An undergraduate/graduate engineering interdisciplinary project is modifying this vehicle to support remote control operation from the shore or a boat. The paper details the strategy, design, project management and implementation of the remote control vehicle. The project has included maintenance and restoration (for example, identification of corrosion and restoration processes), use of ROV technology, identification of modern components, upgrades of power systems and identification of performance enhancements.
The paper details system by system how the students identified the on-board human pilot controls and determined how to provide the same capabilities to a remote operator.
In addition to the strictly engineering aspects, students learned about the identification of potential open water test sites considering water visibility, current, and water depth. This also included water safety and working and communicating with technical divers located near the submarine. The project includes plans to expand the sensor, data and image collecting use of the vehicle as an unmanned submersible with remote operation for research in other fields and across university departments (e.g., biology, environmental studies).

Authors

Mr. Vamsi Sripada University of Bridgeport [biography]

Vamsi Sripada is a Engineering Assistant at University Of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Vamsi's work is related to Electrical and Electronic Systems focused on the projects in Extreme Environment Lab under the supervision of Dr. Jani Pallis and received his MSc in Electrical engineering Degree in Dec 2023.
Mohammad Omar AL-Torzi University of Bridgeport [biography]

Mohammad Al-Torzi received his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bridgeport. His academic background includes research in mechanical systems, design, and experimental methods in extreme environments.
Mr. Huy Trung Huong http://orcid.org/0009-0007-5440-4587 University of Bridgeport [biography]

Huy Huong is a current undergraduate student at the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Huong is receiving his BSc in Computer Science and Mathematics, with an expected matriculation date of May 2025. He currently serves as an undergraduate researcher at the Extreme Environments Laboratory for the School of Engineering under the direction of Dr.Jani M Pallis.
Mr. Juan David Urrea Vargas University of Bridgeport [biography]

Juan David Urrea Vargas is a current undergraduate student at the University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Urrea Vargas is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics, with an expected matriculation date of May 2025. He currently serves as an undergraduate researcher at the Extreme Environments Laboratory for the School of Engineering under the direction of Dr. Jani M. Pallis. He will begin his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bridgeport in Fall 2025.
Miss Sushma Gudi University of Bridgeport [biography]

Sushma Gudi is a Computer Science Engineering Assistant at University of Bridgeport, where she also earned her master's degree in computer science in May 2024. She has contributed to NASA balloon missions and is currently working on two innovative projects: a robotic monkey designed for near-space exploration and a remote-controlled submarine for underwater research. Her work combines 3D printing, robotics, and data analysis. She is also involved in ongoing solar radiation research in collaboration with NEBP. Her skills include programming in Python and C#, as well as developing navigation and control systems.
Andrew Louis Iorio University of Bridgeport
Dr. Jani Macari Pallis University of Bridgeport [biography]

Dr. Jani Macari Pallis received her Ph.D. concentrating in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. She has a master's from the University of California, Berkeley in Mechanical Engineering and a master's and bachelor degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Prof. Jill McNitt-Gray University of Southern California [biography]

Dr. McNitt-Gray is a professor in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Biological Sciences at the University of Southern California and is the director of the USC Biomechanics Research Lab. She and her interdisciplinary research team study the co

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

« View session