MarineCraft: Enabling Rapid Prototyping of Underwater Robots via Modular Construction
Abstract
Underwater robot development is often hindered by the complexities of waterproofing and wiring, which significantly delay the rapid prototyping process. This paper presents MarineCraft, a modular toolkit designed to accelerate the development cycle through structural reconfiguration. The system features self-contained, waterproof propulsion modules that integrate power, wireless communication, and actuation. By eliminating centralized wiring and the need for repeated sealing, MarineCraft allows diverse robot geometries to be assembled and tested in minutes rather than days. Experimental results demonstrate that this reconfigurable architecture enables fast, iterative design cycles while maintaining reliable operation and leak-free performance at depths of up to 2.5 meters. Our toolkit effectively lowers the barrier to underwater robotics by transforming modularity into a vehicle for rapid physical prototyping.
