A Small Energy Harvesting Autonomous Surface Vehicle

We present a small Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) with several novel design considerations. Our design takes advantage of the small scale of this category of ASV to implement a complete power, control, and communication system on a single printed circuit board (PCB) that is also used as the primary structural element. Energy harvesting and propulsion systems are configured to allow the ASV to be fully functional in the event of keeling without the need for righting. The system implementation includes optimized energy harvesting, power management, and mechanical design. The overall system had a fabrication cost of $300 per unit and has several advantages over existing small ASVs.