Samuel Labi, Professor of Civil Engineering, and CCE student Jelin Sabu teamed up with members of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute including Richard Voyles, Co-PI, Brittany Newell, PI, and several Polytechnic students to represent Purdue at the 1st Annual Artificial Intelligence Maritime Maneuver Indiana Collegiate Challenge (AIMM ICC) at the Pokagon State Park in Angola, IN, June 25-27, 2024.

The event was hosted and funded by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane) with the support of the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and planned by a team that included Jason Blume (Trine) and Amy Ruggles (US Navy). This event was created after Congressman Jim Banks (IN-3) led a congressional funding effort towards a NSWC Crane and Trine University partnership.

The sponsors provided a low-cost, easy-to-build, low profile vessel (LPV) that can be made fully autonomous for various functions including marine transportation, stealth missions, supply delivery, and search and rescue. Each participating university received an LPV, a sensor package, and funding for materials and labor. The Purdue team was supported by Tim Murphy of the US Navy.

Strong winds prevented some teams (including the Purdue team) from finalizing their wet runs, but the Purdue team presented and carried out an offsite dry demo of their LPV’s autonomous navigation capabilities.

The Purdue team earned 3rd place for the Project Presentation category.

The Purdue team’s onsite workspace