Mini-Minion is a compact Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) designed as a modular hardware platform for RoboBoat and RobotX testing. The vessel features two foam-filled pontoons printed from TPU and PETG. Articulating rear pods mimic WAM-V's design, providing stability and better engaging thrust. Four Blue Robotics T200 thrusters drive the ASV, directed by an on-board computer receiving live localization and mapping data from GPS, IMU, LiDAR and Camera moduels.
The Hull Team is responsible for the flotation, stability, and suspension of Mini-Minion. A symmetric catamaran configuration utilizing foam-filled TPU pontoons and PETG propulsion pods was selected to emulate the air-filled pontoons and wave-walking behavior of the full-scale WAM-V while maintaining low mass and quick manufacturability. Design decisions were validated through simulation, physical testing, and scale modeling to ensure reliable performance under RoboBoat mission conditions.
The Infrastructure Team has two primary responsibilities:
The Sensor & Payload Team is responsible for integrating Mini-Minion’s onboard sensors, servos, and mission hardware into a unified system. A significant portion of this effort focused on hands-on testing and validation of mission mechanisms, including experimental nozzle fabrication to optimize water cannon performance and analytical evaluation of CO₂-based launch systems as an alternative to compressed air. System-level validation included power-on checks, sensor verification, thruster and servo testing, emergency stop testing, and integrated subsystem evaluations to ensure readiness for autonomous operation.
When boat construction was complete, members of each team split into three new sub teams.
Set up all electrical components to correctly interface with software. For Team Minion, this is the most critical step to achieving autonomy.
At the direction of the calibration and tasking teams, conduct careful tests in pools to ensure desired results.
Prepare autonomy code and tasks in incremental levels until full autonomy is reached.
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