BRACU Duburi, an autonomous underwater vehicle developed by BRAC University students, has been judged runner-up of Robosub 2023, one of the world’s most prestigious robotics competitions. The team also received the Ingenuity Special Award in this competition.

Hosted by Robonation and co-hosted by the USA Naval Information Warfare Centre Pacific in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research at Transdec, California, RoboSub is an international competition which tackles challenges facing the underwater maritime industry. This year, 34 teams from globally reputed universities and education institutions took part in the competition in California, US from 31 July to 6 August. The National University of Singapore came first, with BRAC University second and the University of Alberta third.

Pioneering underwater robotics research in Bangladesh, BRACU Duburi is capable of autonomous underwater navigation and machine learning powered data collection. It can provide sustainable solutions for water pollution reduction, search-and-rescue missions and autonomous monitoring and research in areas where human missions are impossible. Built keeping the Bangladeshi scenario in mind, the camera can operate in opaque water and low light situations while state-of-the-art thrusters enables the robot to traverse turbulent waters.

Dr. Md. Khalilur Rahman, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department, BRAC University, is the Advisor to the BRACU team and Sayantan Roy Arko, Research Assistant and Md Nayem Hossain Saikat, Research Assistant are Co-Advisors. The BRACU Duburi team consists of around 50 student members, with A. T. M. Masum Billah Mishu as team lead and Md Mahfujul Haque as vice-team lead. The sub-team leads are S.M Minoor Karim, Nazmul Haque Omi, Shaownak Md Ibne Shahriar Talukder, Partho Protim Sarker Joy, Samia Abdullah, Umama Tasnuva Aziz. The contributing members include Mahdi Uddin Ahmed, Soumik Hasan Shranto, Md. Musfique Billah and Md Shazzad Hossain Chowdhury.

Professor Syed Mahfuzul Aziz, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University, praised the “fine achievement”. The BRACU Duburi team under the Robotics Club of BRAC University is building on previous achievements with much promise. Bangladesh has great potential in robotics and this achievement highlights that BRAC University can make a significant contribution, he said.