Hydrophone Winch System for Solar-Powered Seaplane UAV

(2025–2026)

GT AREAL

Hydrophone Winch System for Solar-Powered Seaplane UAV — 1

Designed and prototyped a <400g automated winch deployment system for a solar-powered seaplane UAV to enable long-endurance underwater acoustic monitoring.

Skills & Software

Control SystemsMechanical DesignSystems Integration

Introduction

The AHAB project focuses on the design and operation of a solar-powered seaplane UAV intended for long-endurance marine mammal monitoring. A critical component of this mission is the ability to record underwater acoustic data to detect and identify marine species.

I worked specifically on developing the hydrophone winch. Below is my final research deliverable covering my design, control systems, and results.