LILYPADS: AN INTEGRATED UAV & POD SYSTEM
Final prototype of the pod system, which was later developed by another team from the discussed work.
The Lilypads project was a collaboration between the MIT Mechanical and Aero/Astro Engineering undergraduate capstone courses to develop a joint UAV-Pod System for the Office of Naval Research. The goal was to design a system that consisted of a pod, deployable from a surface vessel, that could remain idle at depth in the ocean for up to 100 days until activated. Upon activation, the pod would surface, serve as a communications relay, and deploy a docking mechanism for UAV charging. Such a system would drastically increase range for UAVs used in maritime surveillance operations.
We were able to deliver a complete system design, bill of materials, technical specifications document, and critical design review presentation. The Critical Design Review presentation to the Office of Naval Research can be found here. Additionally, documentation of the system and its various subsystems was provided to detail the system's build for the project's next phase.