Project
KFC Bucket
Autonomous water drone for debris removal.
Design visuals
Project
Autonomous water drone for debris removal.
The Kleanup for Koastlines (KFC) project developed an autonomous water drone to remove floating plastic debris, supporting UN SDG 14. A six-member team designed a hexagonal HDPT hull housing dual 36 V brushless motors and spiral propellers, powered by parallel Bosch 500 Wh batteries for over 2 hours at up to 2 m/s. Perception blends Ublox NEO-M8N GPS, MPU-9250 IMU, and TF02-Pro LiDAR (40 m range). Custom control software fuses waypoint navigation, PI steering, and Dijkstra-based rerouting to dynamically intercept debris. Prototyping and simulations confirmed buoyancy, stability, and fully autonomous operation in marine conditions.
I originated the drone's core concept, selected its GPS, IMU, and LiDAR sensors for reliable autonomy, and implemented navigation algorithms integrating waypoint planning, PI control, and Dijkstra-based obstacle rerouting.
I worked alongside Marcus Gatt to map out every power rail and signal path, selecting the step-down converter to reliably feed the Raspberry Pi and sensors, and routing the high-current lines to the motor driver for our dual-propulsion system.
Dave Cooper and I collaborated on the detailed SolidWorks model, defining part clearances for rapid assembly and ensuring each compartment aligned precisely for optimal buoyancy and easy maintenance in the field.