Electrical Team

Meet the Electrical team, responsible for developing, testing and deploying most of the electrical subsystems onboard the submarines. Some of the subsystems include:

  • The power distribution;
  • Motor control interface;
  • The kill-switch and the mission-switch interface;
  • The actuator control system;
  • Inter-component communication system;
  • Passive sonar system;

These subsystems have been implemented using custom PCBs with embedded code, both having been developed by yours truly.

An important aspect of our team is designing wire harness for the submarines. Indeed, space inside the submarine is scarce and creating a harness optimal in allowing quick repairs while allowing enough space for future improvements is always a big challenge!

Electrical projects

Inputs and Outputs

Accessories such as torpedo launchers, robotic arm and "droppers" are positioned on the submarine. To ensure the correct functioning of the latter, proper operation of the electrical side is essential.

Power

Modern electronic systems often require voltage regulation to function properly. In the case of S.O.N.I.A.’s submarines, the voltage of the lithium-polymer batteries needs to be reduced to a level suitable for low-power electronic components. The power system also needs to manage the distribution of power to all eight motors.

PCB Design

The electrical team designs several PCBs for different systems on the submarine. They go through the design stages of the electrical diagram, the design of the PCB, the ordering, the soldering as well as the tests. (Tools : Altium)

Embedded systems

All embedded systems on the submarine run Mbed OS on STM32F4 microcontrollers. The programs for these microcontrollers are developed and tested by members of the team.

Hydrophones

In general, the hydrophone are used to calculate the delay between the reception of a ping from the reference to the 3 other hydrophones. With the phase difference, we can get the angle (heading) for the X reference on the submarine and the angle bewteen the X and Y plan and the pinger. These 2 angles are used to navigate at 2 positions. Only the heading would be necessary for the competition, but the system is more reliable with the 2 angles and it is easier to confirm the mouvement of the submarine.