Crusader (USV) Lake Testing - 10/4/26
Lake testing wasn’t just a one-day event, it involved weeks of preparation and hard work. After marking the lake testing day on the calendar, the team began building the mission elements. The mission element team created a parts list for each individual buoy and scaled up production to meet the 10-buoy requirement for Task 1. Meanwhile, the software team continued developing and testing their algorithms in simulation using tools such as Software-In-The-Loop (SITL) and Gazebo.
The team also prepared for the challenge of deploying mission elements under the heat. Members responsible for deploying the buoys practiced in the pool first and designed anchors to ensure that the buoys could hold their positions. The night before lake testing, a simplified version of Task 1 was tested in the pool despite the limited space. The team observed Crusader’s behavior and identified additional objectives to test at the lake.
On the day of lake testing, the team practiced role assignments and base station setup to closely replicate the competition environment. The software team first tested Task 1 using injected data while other members set up the field. Parameters were tuned throughout the process. After an hour and a half, Crusader was ready for the advanced Task 1 lake test.
With the start button pressed, Crusader began maneuvering through the buoy field. It passed the buoys on the correct sides and avoided all obstacles. The test was successful. This test demonstrated Crusader’s ability to navigate through the challenge using the provided buoy positions and color information. It also laid a solid foundation for future lake tests involving both the drone and the boat.
FIND OUR TEST PLAN BELOW:
Objective:
Test Crusader’s navigation accuracy under lake environment (at a bigger venue similar to competition setting compare to a pool)
Test “NAV2” based obstacle navigation capability
Test Task 1 advanced with injected drone message
Outcomes:
Accomplish task 1 in ~3 min without hitting any buoys.
NAV2 replan the boat’s trajectory too often, parameters need retuned to increase Crusader’s speed when orbiting around the ENTRY and EXIT buoy.
