Date of Award

6-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2026

Departments

Computer Engineering; Computer Science and Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Michael Schimpf

Second Advisor

Christopher Kitts

Third Advisor

Michael Neumann
Sally Wood

Abstract

Ocean health monitoring is essential for understanding and protecting marine ecosystems, yet existing methods of collecting oceanographic data are often expensive, labor-intensive, and difficult to scale. This project presents the design, integration, and testing of the MANTARAY Profiler, a low-cost, autonomous ocean-monitoring system developed to support repeatable environmental data-collection missions with reduced operator involvement. The system was designed to navigate among multiple surface waypoints, execute vertical profiling maneuvers, and collect water-column data while maintaining a compact, user-friendly, and transportable platform.

The profiler travels horizontally across the water surface to a predetermined GPS waypoint using autonomous navigation and heading-control algorithms. Once the waypoint is reached, the vehicle transitions from a horizontal orientation to a vertical profiling position through an internal buoyancy-shifting mechanism that changes the relationship between the center of mass and the center of buoyancy. In the vertical state, the profiler is designed to perform a controlled dive to depths of up to 30 meters while collecting environmental data, including dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements throughout the water column. After resurfacing, the profiler is intended to reorient itself to its horizontal configuration and travel to the next waypoint, repeating the process for multiple dives spaced approximately 100 meters apart.

The project integrated several interdisciplinary subsystems, including structural and mechanical design, autonomous navigation and control, wireless communications, onboard computing, environmental sensing, power distribution, and health monitoring. A dual-microcontroller architecture coordinated mission execution, waypoint navigation, sensor collection, and actuator control, while a graphical user interface allowed operators to configure missions, monitor system status, and visualize collected data. Subsystem and preliminary integration testing demonstrated successful communication between subsystems, autonomous navigation behavior under controlled dry-test conditions, vertical orientation transitions, and environmental sensor functionality. Overall, the MANTARAY Profiler demonstrates the feasibility of a low-cost autonomous marine vehicle architecture capable of supporting future repeatable oceanographic monitoring missions and expanding accessibility to environmental data collection.

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