Trident Delft is a six-man student team from the Delft University of Technology. The team was formed for a Robotics minor and their challenge was to design, manufacture and program a fully autonomous vessel that went on to partake in the 2018 Roboboat competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The goal of the competition was to have the vessel navigate a number of different challenges without any outside input. These challenges consist of passing through color-coded gates, navigating a field scattered with buoys, following colored flags and docking in a number of docks marked by either images or sounds.

In order to perform well the vessel designed by the team, the Trident, uses a number of sensors to map its surroundings, determine it’s own position and to allow data transfer with other systems. One of the most important sensors aboard is the Xsens MTi-300.

The main purpose of this powerful sensor is to provide the vessel with an accurate heading. This is very important, as this results in the Trident ‘knowing’ where it is going and therefore allowing it to navigate. The sensor also provides acceleration data which is used by a localization system. This data is used to make sure the vessel can determine its own location and derive desired actions more accurately.

All in all the MTi-300 is an essential part of the Trident and without it it would not have been possible to participate in the Roboboat competition. The team is very content with their collaboration with Xsens, as it allowed them to actually complete their vessel and travel to the United States to participate.

Team Trident Delft got fifth place in the overall competition and won the static judging prize.