Revolutionizing Underwater Robotics Design with Altium

Bluefin Robotics, a pioneer in the field of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), faced significant challenges in coordinating electrical and mechanical designs due to the tight design requirements of their AUVs. The existing sequential process of electrical to mechanical design was proving to be inefficient and cumbersome. Engineers were forced to rely on cardboard models, which limited their ability to fully visualize their work and requirements. The AUVs, which are completely autonomous and navigate the seabed to collect data and images, had to be designed to withstand extreme conditions, including pressures of up to 6000 pounds per square inch at depths of 4000 meters. Furthermore, the vehicles had to be neutrally buoyant to reduce propulsion energy requirements and increase efficiency. This meant that for every cubic inch of air added to the vehicle, an equivalent amount of weight had to be added, leading to a delicate balance between performance, buoyancy, and reliability.

Bluefin Robotics was established in 1989 in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Laboratory, one of the first to pioneer the AUV. In 1997, Bluefin branched off and became a standalone company. Since then, Bluefin has built a reputation for its Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), which are completely automatic vehicles that navigate the seabed to collect data and images. Using advanced sonar, manometers, and sensors, AUVs capture important information in areas unsuitable for human exploration. AUVs are responsible for expensive ocean floor surveys for offshore oil companies as well as dangerous battle fleet experiments for the military.