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VIT Chennai · Autonomous Robotics · Est. 2019
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DREADNOUGHT ROBOTICS

Autonomous Underwater Robotics Team, Building intelligent machines for international competitions.

4+
Years Active
Building since 2019
50+
Team Members
Across all disciplines
06
Competitions
National + International
03
AUV Builds
Full system iterations
MIRA AUV 2023
Project MIRA —TAC Challenge 2024
ABOUT
THE TEAM

Dreadnought Robotics is a student-led autonomous systems team at VIT Chennai focused on building AUVs for international competitions.

Our interdisciplinary crew brings together robotics, AI, computer vision, embedded systems, and mechanical design.

From concept to competition pool, every AUV represents hundreds of hours of design, simulation, testing, and iteration.

Robotics Computer Vision Embedded Systems Mechanical Design AI / Deep Learning Control Systems
ACHIEVEMENTS
01
2024
Runner-Up
TAC Autonomy Challenge
Secured second place in the TAC Autonomy Challenge with an advanced autonomous underwater navigation system.
2026
Top 4
SAUVC Singapore
Ranked among the Top 4 teams at the Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge and received the Most Innovative AUV Design award for our underwater robotics platform.
2025
Top 25
SAUVC Singapore
Selected to represent India and VIT Chennai at the Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge, competing with top global AUV teams.
2026
Winners
Robofest
Won National Competition held in Gujrat and won 2.5 Lakhs
FEATURED
PROJECTS
02
Project MIRA 2.0 AUV
Flagship · AUV
01
Project MIRA 2.0
Competition-grade Autonomous Underwater Vehicle designed for SAUVC and TAC, featuring 6-DOF motion control, stereo vision perception, and integrated IMU-based navigation for autonomous task execution.
ROS2Computer VisionSLAM
View Project →
Project MIRA AUV
AUV
02
Project MIRA
Our first-generation competition Autonomous Underwater Vehicle developed for underwater robotics challenges. MIRA features 6-DOF motion control, vision-based perception, and an onboard autonomy stack for executing mission tasks.
ROS Computer Vision Autonomous Navigation
View Project →
Where We Compete
COMPETITIONS
03
SAUVC
Singapore · International
Singapore AUV Challenge
📍 Singapore · International
Asia's most prestigious AUV competition. Zero human intervention during autonomous mission runs.
TOP 25 — 2025
TAC Challenge
Norway · International
TAC Autonomy Challenge
📍 Norway · International
Norway's premier autonomous systems challenge. Teams from top engineering institutes.
Runner-Up — 2024
Engineering Work

OUR PROJECTS

Full AUV builds to specialized subsystem R&D, each project advances our capability.

02
AUV
Flagship
01
Veluza|Asterix
8 thruster 6-DOF control, custom waterproof electronics, stereo vision, DVL-IMU navigation. Built for SAUVC tasks including gate navigation, buoy targeting, and torpedo firing.
ROS2C++PythonSLAM
GitHub →
AUV
Flagship
02
Project MIRA 2.0
7-DOF underwater manipulator with compliant force feedback. Custom servo controllers integrated with MIRA for competition manipulation challenges.
ROSForce SensingMoveIt2
GitHub →
AUV
Flagship
03
Project MIRA
Real-time underwater detection and segmentation. Custom YOLOv8 models trained for gates, buoys, and markers in variable visibility conditions.
YOLOv8PyTorchOpenCVTensorRT
GitHub →
AUV
Flagship
04
Calypso
Sensor fusion combining DVL velocity, IMU orientation, pressure depth. Extended Kalman Filter with <5cm position accuracy.
EKFDVLIMU Fusion
GitHub →
AUV
Flagship
05
Calypso SKL
Custom power distribution and control board. LiPo BMS, thruster ESC control, kill switch, leak detection, and full sensor data logging.
PCB DesignKiCadSTM32BMS
GitHub →
SIM
Simulation
06
Gazebo Simulation
High-fidelity Gazebo environment for MIRA testing. Hydrodynamic modeling, underwater rendering, and full sensor simulation for pre-pool validation.
GazeboROS2URDFHydrodynamics
GitHub →
Where We Compete

COMPETITIONS

Representing VIT Chennai on international and national stages against the best in the world.

03
SAUVC
Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge
🌊
✓ Selected to Compete — 2023
Full Name
Singapore Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge
Location
Singapore · Annual International Competition
About
Asia's most prestigious AUV competition. Teams from universities globally must complete all missions fully autonomously, zero human intervention during runs.
Competition Tasks
  • Gate Navigation
  • Buoy Targeting & Touching
  • Torpedo Firing
  • Object Dropping into Bins
  • Acoustic Homing
  • Position Hold
TAC
TAC Autonomy Challenge — India
⚙️
🥈 Runner-Up — 2023
Full Name
TAC Autonomy Challenge
Location
India · Annual National Competition
About
India's premier autonomous systems challenge. Attracts teams from IITs, NITs, and top engineering institutions. Dreadnought secured Runner-Up in the underwater category in 2023.
Competition Tasks
  • Autonomous Navigation
  • Underwater Object Detection
  • Waypoint Following
  • System Integration Judging

THE TEAM

50+ engineers united by a shared obsession with underwater autonomous systems.

04
Core Board
Leadership · 4 Members
Nishaanth S
Nishaanth S
Team Captain
in
Eshaan Adyanthaya
Eshaan Adyanthaya
Team Manager
in
Harsh Bopalia
Harsh Bopalia
Vice Captain
in
Anshul Paliwal
Anshul Paliwal
Vice Captain
in
Board Members
Domain Leads · 7 Members
Namit Nair
Namit Nair
AUV Head
in
Surya
Surya
Electrical and Electronics Head
in
David
David
Programming and Analysis Head
in
Rutuparna Kulkarni
Rutuparna Kulkarni
Mechanical and Design Head
in
Ankan Mondal
Ankan Mondal
Research and Development Head
in
Tanisha
Tanisha
Resource Head
in
Abishek
Abishek
HR and Management Head
in
Visual Archive

THE GALLERY

Competitions, pool tests, workshops, and the moments that define Dreadnought Robotics.

05
All
Competitions
Robots
Team
Testing
SAUVC Competition
SAUVC 2023 · Singapore Competition
MIRA AUV
MIRA AUV · Final Build
MIRA Testing
MIRA · Pool Testing
MIRA Robot
MIRA · Robot Detail
Team Photo
Team · 2024
Team Event
Team · Event 2024
Testing Session
Workshop · Testing Session
Workshop
Workshop · Assembly
Our Partners

OUR SPONSORS

The organizations that make our work possible. Their support enables us to compete and build.

06
Gold Partners
Primary sponsors · Maximum visibility
Silver Partners
Secondary sponsors · High visibility
Community Partners
In-kind & community support
Reach Us

GET IN TOUCH

Find us on socials or drop us an email, we'd love to hear from you.

07
Email
dreadnought.robotics@vit.ac.in
Official team email
Instagram
@dreadnoughtrobotics
Updates & behind the scenes
LinkedIn
Dreadnought Robotics VIT
Professional updates & recruitment
X / Twitter
@DNTRobotics
News & announcements