EchoVoyagers

Posted on by Steven McDermott

Team Name

EchoVoyagers

Timeline

Summer 2025 – Fall 2025

Students

  • Efren Ramirez-Chavez – Computer Engineering
  • Yaritza Martinez – Computer Engineering
  • Juliet Cuin – Computer Engineering
  • Jorge Melo – Computer Engineering
  • Brandon Segovia – Computer Engineering

Abstract

SensorBoat is a small-scale RC boat designed to map underwater terrain and detect fish using sonar, GPS, and wireless communication systems. This device collects, processes, and transmits data in real time while navigating shallow or vegetated water. The main goal is to help fishermen locate fish more effectively and reduce the risk of damaging larger boats. The system creates depth maps and terrain plotting, then displays the information on a laptop for the user. Additional sensors and features can be added to expand its capabilities for environmental monitoring and apply them to technical fields. SensorBoat offers a portable and affordable solution for understanding underwater environments without the need for large, costly equipment.

Background

Detecting and understanding the world beneath the water often requires large boats and sensitive equipment that can be expensive and difficult to use. Fishermen and engineers face issues when navigating shallow or vegetated waters, which can lead to broken propellers, clogged water intakes, or damaged hulls. Our project SensorBoat aims to reduce these challenges by offering a small, budget-friendly, remote-controlled boat that collects underwater data in real time. By installing sonar, GPS, and wireless communication modules on an RC boat, we can map terrain and detect fish without risking a full-sized vessel. This approach also helps users explore areas that larger boats cannot safely reach. The system processes sensor data through a microprocessor and sends results to a laptop for viewing. With these features, SensorBoat provides a flexible and accessible way to understand underwater environments more safely and efficiently. The features implemented on the SensorBoat have been done in similar projects found online before. One example being the DIY open source SONAR by Jan Neumann [1]. This project uses an echo sounder to make a 2D map of the depth of the water, which is what inspired us to create the waterfall chart that depicts objects in the water.

Project Requirements

  • Live Waterfall Sonar Chart: The system shall use a sonar system to gather underwater data with enough resolution and scaling to identify fish and assist with depth mapping.
  • Wireless Data Transmission and Reception: The respective microcontroller will connect, process, and send all sensor data to the wireless transceiver using SPI to transmit data packets to the user in real time.
  • Waterproofing: The boat shall include a waterproof enclosure to protect all critical electronics from water exposure during operation.
  • Sensor Array: The RC boat shall be modified to house the sonar module, GPS, microprocessor, wireless system, and any additional sensors needed for navigation and data collection.
  • Underwater Mapping: The system shall allow the user to view underwater-mapped terrain in accordance with the sensor and sonar data. This will work together with the live waterfall chart to give the user additional data that can relate to each other.
  • Expandability: The system shall be flexible enough to allow upgrades for advanced functions such as autonomous navigation and area-based scanning.

Design Constraints

  • Environmental Concerns: Since our product interacts directly with bodies of water, such as lakes, we must be sure that it does not contaminate the environment, for example, the chemicals from batteries that will power the sonar system.
  • Max Depth Specifications: The terrain mapping will be constrained to the maximum depth that the sonar system can reach, which is approximately 20m+. Anything that is deeper than what the sonar module can reach will not accurately be represented on the map.
  • Wireless Capabilities: The device will be constrained by the distance specifications of the wireless data system and the RC controller for the boat. The boat will not be able to venture too far away from the user.
  • Budget-Focused System: The packaging used for this product must be cost-efficient while also providing sufficient protection of the product. We would also like to prioritize environmentally friendly packaging so that we can mitigate the negative consequences of trash production.
  • Hardware Limitations: For the sonar implementation, approximately 113us/sample with the Arduino UNO. Furthermore, the Arduino Uno is limited to 600 samples per instance with respect to the limited memory that can be utilized in the UNO. Any improvements regarding this will require dedication to using completely different hardware.
  • Ease of Use: The material must be understandable for users without a technical background.

Engineering Standards

  • Lithium battery packs safety defined in IEC 62133
  • Safety of electrical and electronics equipment defined in IEC 60950/62368-1
  • IP Ratings defined in IEC 60529
  • Establish a common framework for life-cycle processes defined in IEEE 12207
  • GPS module will adhere to the NMEA 0183 for communication with the microcontroller
  • The packaging of the product will adhere to the ASTM D4169 standard for performance testing of shipping containers
  • Serial communication protocols like for I2C and SPI NXP/JEDEC standard, TIA-232-F / TTL Serial for UART.
  • Systems and software engineering – Requirements for user documentation defined in ISO/IEC 26514
  • Human-centered design for interactive systems defined in ISO 9241-210

System Overview

The SensorBoat control system is designed with a modular, layered architecture to
manage underwater data collection and navigation. At the heart of the system is an
Arduino UNO microcontroller, which serves as the central hub for processing GPS
NMEA data and collecting analog signals coming from the sonar solution. The layers
can be separated into: Microcontroller, Sensors and Modules, Software, and User
Interface.

  • Sensors and Modules Layer: To generate the necessary ultrasonic pulses for underwater scanning, the project uses a reverse-engineered commercial fish finder with a waterproof transducer driven by an external power and amplification circuitry for sonar. For depth-mapping functionality, the Neo 6m GPS module is incorporated to provide location data during operation. For wireless communication with the host device, the system includes an NRF24L01 RF transceiver module utilized by two STM32 L412KB to send and receive collected data.
  • Microcontroller Layer: The Microcontroller layer is responsible for interfacing with physical sensors, processing data, and managing system-level communication between the microcontrollers in the boat. DMA-controlled UART implementation for efficiency and timing needed to send and process all the data between both the Arduino UNO and the STM32 L412KB.
  • Software Layer: The software subsystem operates as the main data processor, converting raw input into clear, usable information for the user. It stores data in structured formats such as CSV files or databases. Sonar transducer and GPS packets arrive from the STM32’s NRF24L01 receiving module, and the subsystem processes them through its various software components.
  • User Interface Layer: The user interface (UI) connects the operator to the system, enabling fish detection and underwater terrain mapping. It provides real-time visuals through a live waterfall sonar chart and a terrain depth map. The Ul runs as a computer application that receives sensor data wirelessly from the microcontroller, using a receiver connected to the computer. The software is built in Python3 on Windows, using libraries like NumPy, Matplotlib, time, and PySerial for data processing.

Results

The system was able to collect sonar data and display basic terrain, using predetermined values, and object information during testing. While the data quality showed promise, further refinement is needed to improve overall performance in larger real-world environments. This includes work on the wireless system, the boat enclosure to ensure reliable data transmission and full waterproofing, and updating the terrain plotter.

Future Work

Critical future work involves designing and implementing a fully waterproof enclosure to mitigate susceptibility to water and allow for reliable extending testing in real-world aquatic environments. The project also still needs to accurately integrate the GPS data with the depth data to create the terrain chart. Additional improvements include developing autonomous navigation features that enable the boat to scan specified areas without manual control, enhancing the wireless communication system to ensure smoother and more stable data transmission between the boat and the user.

Project Files

Project Charter
System Requirements Specification
Architectural Design Specification
Detailed Design Specification
Full Color Schematic
Logic Block Diagram
Poster
Closeout Materials

References

[1] J. Neumann, “a DIY open-source SONAR — hackaday.io,”https://hackaday.io/project/196793-a-diy-open-source-sonar, [Accessed 12-07-2025]

Steven McDermott

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