ASV Rybitwa

ASV Rybitwa (English: Tern) was the second Autonomous Surface Vehicle built by our team. It marked a major step forward compared to our previous vehicle, ASV Perkoz. It was also the first time we decided to fully adopt a systems engineering approach to the design process. We began with mission analysis, formulated requirements, developed concepts, and implemented these in a design that was later manufactured. This time, we even managed to fully assemble our ASV before departing for the USA.

This time, our hull was made of fiberglass and filled with closed-cell foam. The superstructure was partially 3D printed, with large, flat surfaces made from Ertacetal plates. We resolved the communication and GPS issues from our previous project and implemented new networking solutions within the ASV. Thanks to a fuse terminal provided by our sponsors at AQ Wiring STG, our electrical system became safe and easy to troubleshoot. The propulsion and computer vision systems remained almost identical to those in ASV Perkoz.

Despite all this progress—and ASV Rybitwa’s impressive performance during the Qualification Round of RoboBoat 2024—disaster struck... twice. Moments before our second and third runs during the Finals Round, our propeller blades broke while testing on the water. Unfortunately, our design did not account for the need for quick propeller replacement. The way our thrusters were mounted required four people and over 15 minutes to install spare propellers. As a result, our team effectively only had one chance to compete in the Finals Round.

However, ASV Rybitwa taught us something very important. It proved that, despite a few details needing refinement, our team has the ability to design and build a fully functional vehicle capable of competing with boats built by teams from around the world. Most of the major design decisions we made turned out to be correct, and our overall system architecture was both reliable and efficient. This experience filled us with hope that our next vehicle will achieve even greater success during RoboBoat 2025.