Trident Delft team prepares for autonomous vessel contest

Students from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands are using their robotics knowledge to develop a trimaran autonomous vessel for the RoboBoat contest in Florida in June.

With the support of Damen, the Trident Delft team has opted for a twin-propeller vessel, Trident, that will measure about one metre by 70 centimetres and weigh around 22 kilograms. She is designed to sail at speeds of 1.5 metres per second.

With the aim to mimic tasks that full-sized vessels carry out during coastal surveillance, port security and other maritime operations, the RoboBoat contest involves student-designed autonomous boats navigating and racing through an aquatic obstacle course.

Trident and her fellow competitors will have 20 minutes to complete a course, which includes mandatory and optional tests, such as docking and undocking, avoidance of obstacles and speed trials.