Oystermaran

For my master's thesis at MIT, I completely designed, built, and tested every mechanical system on the Oystermaran V2, an unmanned surface vessel (USV) developed for high-density oyster farming.

Dubbed "Flippy" for its ability to flip over the oyster baskets, the Oystermaran is a catamaran-style USV built to work with existing oyster farm setups, making it easier for farmers to adopt. Currently, most aquaculture work is still done manually, and Flippy works to reduce the labor required for flip-bag oyster farming. Flippy II was built to improve maneuverability, increase flipping mechanism capability, and create a test platform the team can continue to use while bringing the device closer to market

I calculated, designed, built, and tested every mechanical component on Flippy II. This included custom hulls with interchangeable bows and insets for all mechanisms, reducing the need for fine manual control by preventing snagging. To flip baskets, I designed three mechanisms which work together. "Claws" made of custom linkages grab the target basket snugly, while a powerful arm with spring assists lifts the basket. Finally, a belt-driven pushing beam ensures a successful flip and redistributes the oysters inside of the basket.

My team tested the vehicle in the lab, the pool, and at the oyster farm. The final design proved to be a complete mechanical platform capable of flipping baskets which the team can continue to work with and optimize. To read more, my master's thesis is available at MIT DSpace, and the initial hull design was presented at Oceans 2023.