Enabling SubjuGator

Eventually, after working in simulations and theory for some amount of time, you’re going to want to go out to a real body of water to test the submarine! That’s perfect, this guide will help to walk you through some of the background info needed to get moving.

Power

SubjuGator 8 can be powered through two methods, AC power, and batteries. You’re going to want to use one over the other depending on where you’re testing the robot. If you’re testing out of the water, you’re going to want to use AC power, as this will give you a nice, smooth uninterrupted power supply. If you’re testing in the water, then AC power is no longer an option unless you want to break the power supply. Therefore, you’ll need to use batteries.

The AC power looks like a gray metal box, with a fan at two ends. It plugs into a wall. You should then be able to use the power supply with the sub through a connecting cable.

Otherwise, you can use two 24V LiPo batteries in the sub’s battery compartment. These batteries only last for a while, so use them sparingly, and don’t try to use them excessively. Misusing batteries will typically result in a fire or puffy batteries.

The submarine automatically boots up whenever power is connected. There’s no on button!

SSH

Now that the sub is on, you may to want to see what it’s doing. That’s where the magical SSH comes in! You can run programs on the sub’s computer, which is helpful when you want to record bag files, run programs, see diagnostics, or do anything else!

To be able to ssh into SubjuGator, you’re going to need to be on the same network as the sub. Frequently, the MIL Network Box is used to achieve this. You should connect an ethernet cable to the sub over tether, and then insert this cable into the box. Then, you can insert your own Ethernet cables and be connected to the sub. For more information on the box, see its documentation page.