LoCO 1.0 Capabilities and Limitations

This page serves as a list of the capabilities of LoCO version 1.0. Please read this page, so that you are clear on what the robot is currently capable of, and what it is not.

Capabilites:

• Swimming (nominally down to 100m), at approximately 1.5 m/s max velocity.
• Perception with two cameras (not currently stereo synchronized).
• Depth sensor and IMU readings.
• Tethered swimming, controlled by a joystick controller.
• Untethered swimming with a variety of basic movements.
• Basic diver following
• Control via ARToolkit tags or hand gestures.

Known Limitations:

• LoCO's software stack is immature. There are sure to be bugs and deficiencies, please let us know when you find them.
• LoCO does not currently have a stereo camera due to space constraints. This is a primary development goal in the future.
• LoCO's autopilot currently operates just based on "best-guess" velocities. Developing a proper autopilot with feedback from IMU and visual odometry is another primary development goal for the future.
• LoCO's diver following is currently rather poor. An improved diver detector has been developed, and an improved diver following controller is in the pipeline.
• LoCO has an OLED device which is currently not fully supported in our software. This is in progress. A previous implementation displayed static menus, but current development is targeting dynamic information display using rosserial.
• The external 3D printed parts have a tendency to take on water, and the amount that they take on appears to change over time, as microfractures form in the part. This causes ballasting issues. We are currently considering design changes which will add intentional flooding of the parts to account for this.