Throughout the world, multiple island nations are crippled after natural disasters. Aid can currently arrive, but it does so outside of the critical window as these nations do not have the ability to fully utilize modern infrastructure such as airports and shipyards. While this issue exists globally, this project seeks to focus on six key areas prone to aid limitations: Indonesia, Papa New Guinea, Taiwan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Haiti. There are no current solutions to this problem, necessitating further research and development. Once implemented, UAMs will drastically reduce the impact of easily preventable human suffering following natural disasters by providing critical aid materials within the first 24-48 hours after a natural disaster strike. This time window is critical to the mission as after the window, severe food and water insecurity and escalating secondary heath crises start to occur.
Offshore Underwater Aid Modules (UAMs) are proposed solutions to alleviate the effects of natural disasters on island nations. Due to the lack of previous development in this area, our team aims to design and implement underwater aid modules to house immediate aid supplies to be released after a natural disaster strike. These materials can help these communities in the meantime while more support is on the way to help them. Some simple examples of materials could be food, water, and medical supplies. This module will float to shore and allow people to access critical supplies soon after these tragedies. This project will be divided into focus groups on the anchoring system design and the capsule design. Their problem statements are as follows:
The anchor system for the UAMs will need to hold the UAM in the “loaded” position on the ocean floor, receive a signal to release the UAM, and then release the UAM. It will need to consider the environmental tendencies and allow for a secure and reliable, yet severable connection to the UAM.