IMAPS - A multidisciplinary aquatic robot project

Multidisciplinary skills and the willing and ability to apply engineering skills to non-engineering problems are always desired by industry and critical to the success of our students. Starting from 2005, a Rowan student team from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biology Science worked together to develop an aquatic robot under the guidance of faculties from these departments. In this multidisciplinary project, the students designed and built an easy-to-use yet versatile surface robot that can autonomously cruise on the surface of water and take underwater data in real time. In less than two years, the robot has evolved from a proof-of-concept prototype to a functioning robot that can autonomously pilot itself and test water quality as deep as 30m. Extensive field tests have been performed at various locations with different water qualities and weather conditions. Currently, the multidisciplinary group is gearing up to develop a third generation amphibious robot that can launch itself and return to the land. This robot, also called IMAPS², will also be applied to the biological or environmental research on difficult areas such as marshes.