Team Bumblebee from the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC) and the Advanced Robotics Centre (ARC) achieved a remarkable victory at the Maritime RobotX Challenge 2024, securing first place overall! Their hard work and effort paid off, as the team was recognised through multiple awards, including 1st Prize for Design Documentation for Best Website, Best Team Introduction Video, Best System Assessment and Best Presentation, amongst the 15 teams representing Australia, Chile, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Furthermore, Team Bumblebee is the first team to win the championship twice, since the Maritime RobotX Challenge started in 2014!
The team comprises over 30 students from the College of Design and Engineering, 13 students from the School of Computing, and 2 students from the NUS Business School. 29 team members, along with an alumni Ph.D. student, represented NUS in Sarasota, Florida, USA.
About the Challenge
The biennial Maritime RobotX Challenge is a prestigious international competition that fosters student interest in autonomous robotic systems within the maritime domain. It emphasises the science and engineering of cooperative autonomy. In this competition, the unmanned vehicles must adeptly navigate and avoid obstacles. Each buoy on the course represents an object to be strategically avoided or approached, with additional obstacle buoys placed randomly to mimic real-world maritime challenges.
During the qualifying rounds, teams must autonomously guide their autonomous surface vessels (ASV) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) through a series of tasks. These tasks involve navigating the course through designated gates, following specific paths, and encountering simulated wildlife. To qualify for the Semi-Finals Round, a team must demonstrate proficiency in at least five out of the eight tasks. Team Bumblebee excelled, becoming the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.
Ahead of the semi-finals, the team focused on data collection, rigorous testing, and refining the ASV 4.0 and their drone, Jellyfish 2.0, to handle the increasingly complex tasks in succession without any intervention. The team also delivered a presentation and system assessment to the judges, where each member contributed by detailing their specific subsystem. Their efforts paid off, as they secured first place in both the presentation and assessment.
From ASV 3.0 to ASV 4.0
In RobotX Challenge 2022, the team secured second place with their ASV 3.0, despite facing challenges like limited inter-vehicle integration, in-water time, and frequent hardware issues. With only three months of preparation due to their participation in RoboSub 2022, they lacked time for extensive testing. Learning from this, the team made the difficult decision to skip RoboSub 2024, allowing them to have more time to develop and test their vehicles comprehensively for RobotX 2024.
With this extra time, the team adopted an iterative design approach. Before building the ASV4.0, they developed an ASV 3.5 that had a revised set of electrical systems and was set up for sea trials to validate the new system and give the new members hands-on experience with the ASV. These trials also highlighted areas for improvement, which were incorporated into the next iteration. This phase allowed the team to resolve hardware issues early in the development process.
The ASV 4.0 was then designed as a competition-ready vehicle, featuring stable electrical and mechanical systems. The sea trials for ASV4.0 were primarily aimed at helping the software team prepare for and practice competition tasks. This two-step process ensured that the team delivered a stable and reliable vehicle for the competition. Additionally, the team’s drone, Jellyfish 2.0, complemented the ASV’s capabilities with features such as automated take-off and landing from the ASV, inter-vehicle communication, target tracking and object detection via computer vision, hot-swappable batteries, and weather protection.
During the competition, Team Bumblebee was the only team to successfully attempt and complete both autonomous drone take-off and landing during the scoring runs. The reliability of their operational system enabled the team to execute multiple take-offs and landings smoothly.
Team Lead Teoh Xu En from Electrical Engineering described winning the competition as a profound mix of relief and gratitude. The team navigated through significant uncertainties leading up to the event, such as a potential cancellation of the competition due to Hurricane Milton. They also faced shipment issues, with their boat arriving just a day before the competition. Despite these challenges, the team adapted quickly to changes, and every member was well-prepared, knowing their specific roles and responsibilities.
The team will now focus on their Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in preparation for RoboSub 2025. After winning the RoboSub competition in both 2022 and 2023, the team opted not to participate in RoboSub 2024 to concentrate on RobotX 2024. “Now, the team aims to reclaim its winning position at RoboSub 2025!” stated Xu En.
We look forward to seeing more impressive iterations and results from the team. Keep going, Team Bumblebee!
Meet the team
Teoh Xu En, Team Lead (Electrical Engineering, Class of 2025)
Lee Tze Han, Development Lead (Computer Engineering, Class of 2025)
Matthew Lee, Drone Lead (Computer Engineering, Class of 2025)
Zhang Yijian, AUV Lead (Computer Engineering, Class of 2027)
Tran Phuoc Huy Khang, Mechanical Lead (Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2025)
Leong Deng Jun, Electrical Lead (Computer Engineering, Class of 2026)
Ng Xing Yu, Software Lead (Computer Science, Class of 2025)
Goh Eng Wei, Research Associate, Advanced Robotics Centre (Technical Advisor)
View the full Team Bumblebee list here: https://bumblebee.sg/our-team/2425/
Find out more about the competition: https://robotx.org/
Watch the team’s video:
