Introduction: Underwater Glider
We set out to build an underwater glider that would essentially have automated movement up and down through the water. This up and down movement was to be controlled with a ballast system created by the push and pull of various syringes. In short, the glider was to rest just above neutral buoyancy with the syringes empty, meaning it would float. Then when the motor pulled the syringes and they filled with water, the glider would dive. Once the glider reached a desired depth, the motor would push the syringes to empty them back out and the glider would rise up. To keep the glider from turning or tipping over, the glider would house an accelerometer attached to a servo holding weight. Whenever the accelerometer (and glider) became off-balanced, the weight would pivot to straighten the glider out. We also added a single, much smaller syringe so that we could obtain water samples at different depths in bodies of water for an environmental studies lab to examine.
Step 1: Ballast Control
Starting at the front of the glider, we first worked on the ballast system. We purchased three 60cc syringes and a 20cc syringe for the test from the Tractor Supply Company. We decided that the push/pull motion would be done by stepper motors directly connect to long threaded bolts. The syringes would sit in a fixed position at the front of the glider with the open ends facing the front.
Step 2: Syringe Mount
We bought an 18" x 4" diameter clear acrylic tube, with 1/8" walls. This would serve as the main body of the glider. We also purchased 24" worth of 4" PVC pipe and a Qwik Cap to seal the back. We attached about 12" of PVC to the back of the sub to house the electrical components, and also attached about 2" of PVC to the front to make the glider sit flat on a table during construction. Using the 3D printer, we fabricated a syringe holder that would also serve as the front end cap, fitting the inside of our 4'' diameter acrylic tube. Later application of silicone caulk would provide a waterproof seal in the front of the glider. As seen in the picture, the syringe mount would securely hold the three ballast-controlling syringes as well as the smaller, sample syringe.
Step 3: T-Nut Attachments
With all four syringes mounted in the 3D-printed mount, we fabricated a tool that would uniformly push and pull the three ballast syringes. The tool also housed a t-nut which would hold the threaded bolt attached to the stepper motor and provide the push/pull motion when turned. In a similar fashion, we attached a t-nut to the smaller syringe making it moveable with a threaded bolt attached to a smaller, separate stepper motor.
Step 4: Stepper and Servo Motor Mounts
Working our way towards the middle of the glider, next was the mounting of the stepper and servo motors. Using sheets of plastic cardboard, we created a sort of shelf to fit inside the tube. We mounted the two stepper motors to the plastic using pre-made mounts. Because of limited space in the tube, we fabricated a pulley system for the smaller stepper motor so that the motors could sit at the same alignment, yet turn threaded rods at different alignments (to match the setup of the syringes in the mount). This alignment change can be seen in the picture of the side view. In order to attach the servo motor to the plastic cardboard, we simply cut a hole the size of the motor and glued it in. The position of the weight on the servo was strategically placed in the middle of the glider to maximize stability control. All the wires from the three motors were directed towards the back of the glider.
Step 5: Connecting Mechanics to Ballast
To make sure everything aligned correctly, we attached the threaded rods at the end of the stepper motors to the t-nuts, screwing them in about an inch. The mechanics were then fully completed and ready to be attached inside the tube.
Step 6: Locking Mechanics Into the Body
In order to ensure that the syringes were the part that moved when the threaded bolt spun, and not the motors, we glued the plastic shelf holding the motors to the inside walls of the tube. We also glued the syringe mount to the inside of the very front of the tube to keep it from spinning or moving.
Step 7: Extending Wires
As seen in the pictures and mentioned before, we sent all the wires from the three motors to the very back of the glider where they would be attached to the electronics (Arduino, breadboard and battery).
Step 8: Waterproofing
With almost everything securely inside the tube, we waterproofed the glider. This meant applying silicone to the front, sealing the syringe mount, as well as to the point of connection between the acrylic tube and the PVC portion of the glider. We also made sure the Qwik Cap on the back fit snugly and was waterproof.
Step 9: Electronics and Power
We programmed our underwater glider using an Arduino UNO and the many Arduino libraries. In addition we needed two micro drivers to control the stepper motors that would push and pull our ballasts, a servo to control the weight and the 10 DOF Adafruit accelerometer. To power our device we used a 9 volt battery, and for the additional voltage needed for the stepper motors we used a 14.8V LiPo battery.
For the programming of the device we used 6 libraries in total:
AccelStepper.h Metro.h Wire.h Servo.h Adafruit_Sensor.h Adafruit_LSM303_U.h
After setting up the various devices and motors we have a single main loop that controls the algorithm for the glider. Below we have included pseudo code for this loop.
void loop (){ swing(); if still traveling{ drop(); stopANDtake(); rise(); finish(); } }
The swing function of our code takes the data from the accelerometer and changes the position of the servo according to its reading. This part of the code is called every time through the loop so the servo and the weight are in constant motion as the glider travels through the water. We have included our entire code below. We have the gates for the extremes past -10 and 10 in order to allow for the calculation for the servo to write.
void swing(){<br> /* Get a new sensor event */ sensors_event_t event; accel.getEvent(&event); double ycomp = event.acceleration.y; if(ycomp <= -10) ycomp = -10; if(ycomp >= 10) ycomp = 10; myservo.write(180-(ycomp+10)*9); }
The sub enters the still traveling loop, and this is where the ballasts get moved during the different stages of movement. The first stage it enters is the drop stage. During this stage the ballasts are pulled in using our stepper motor. The second stage is the stopANDtake stage during this stage the of the motion the ballasts stop pulling and the glider is allowed to sink a bit. This will also be the stage in the next generation of the sub when the test tube will take in samples. Lastly we have a rise function. This turns the direction of the stepper motor around so that it pushes the ballasts and the water back out. This allows the sub to be more buoyant and will float back to the surface. The finish command just shuts the motors off, and allows for the safe retrieval of the craft.
Step 10: Wings/Stabilizers
To add to the "cool factor" of the glider, as well as to the function of stability, we added laser-cut, acrylic wings to the sides and top of the glider. These would assist the accelerometer in keeping the glider upright and level as it moved through the water.
Step 11: Minor Tweaks to Finished Device
With the glider complete, there were some unforeseen issues that needed addressing. One of which was the distribution of weight throughout the glider. Originally, we wanted it to dive front-first as the syringes sucked in water. The problem arouse in the fact that the glider itself was back-heavy due to the PVC portion and the battery being in the rear. To offset this problem and even out the weight distribution, we added weight to the front of the glider in the form of a 4" PVC joint filled with a calculated amount of metal.
The following videos display the working ballast system.
14 Comments
5 years ago
awesome!!!
8 years ago on Introduction
good project.want to make this can i get a link where i can download a pdf format of project
8 years ago on Introduction
To keep the glider level side-to-side, couldn't you have the center-of-gravity of the glider lower then the center-of buoyancy? This would control roll. Then the control system would only have to deal with the fore-and-aft tilt (pitch). Yaw could be controlled with a rudder at the rear.
Do you have a depth gauge? To do that, you need a "proof volume" coupled to a pressure sensor. You also need a gyro for steering.
For remotestidea: to sense depth, your "proof volume" needs to be independent of the internal volume of the craft, as the air there will be compressed and expanded by the movement of the syringes, which will alter the sensing of depth.
8 years ago
Thanks for sharing your project. This is super cool. Can you say (ballpark) what everything cost to complete?
8 years ago on Introduction
Great project guys! Your design makes a terrific test bed for all sorts of underwater exploits. I was going to build something similar (no time) and use the distortion of top cap by water pressure as a depth gauge/trigger. It would be nice to be able to set specific water depths.
8 years ago on Introduction
what is the purpose of being able to see the screw drive?
8 years ago on Introduction
well written and just enough pictures to make it clearer
Nice work a great basis for more experiments Keep up the good work.
8 years ago on Introduction
??? I don't understand the need for fins and the balancing device. It would seem to me that the fins are just as likely to destabilize it since it needs to work in both directions and if it's weighted properly, there would be no need for a balancing device.
8 years ago on Introduction
ni cad batteries,solar panel,gps transponder and wings to help it and it could explore for years, keep us posted and get it a website!
8 years ago on Introduction
Like the rotating-weight roll control. Gets around the problems of hydrodynamic ailerons/elevons with their through-hull penetration, linkages, complexity.
You could even use the idea of the rotating weight for directional control by carefully inducing a bank although that requires a navigational reference like a compass or GPS.
All in all, a slick piece of work.
What have you decided on as a maximum depth?
8 years ago on Introduction
That is a good start on a complex project. Have you looked at navigation or communications yet? Here is an idea to do both with minimal moving parts.
8 years ago
Guys, really good job. We have a long way to go, but we'll get there. Really nice instructable!
8 years ago on Introduction
Great documentation!
8 years ago on Introduction
That's a really cool project! Do you have any underwater video? I think that would be awesome to see!