2026, with two classmates · I wrote the control software
VIRIDIS
A submarine built from scratch with two classmates. It's open source, so other schools can build their own and race us.
What it is
VIRIDIS is a student project at VOŠ & SPŠE Plzeň: an open-source submarine, built from the ground up and supported by the city of Plzeň and the Plzeň Region. The goal is bigger than one boat: we want Czech and foreign schools to build their own and compete with us in competitions we organise.
What I built
The desktop control centre that talks to the submarine: steering, live telemetry, video and a record of every mission.
- Keyboard control (WASD) over UART, using a binary protocol with CRC checks at a configurable 10 Hz.
- Telemetry from a 9-axis IMU (heading, pitch, roll) plus temperature, pressure, water level, voltage, current and power.
- Live video from the onboard camera (DirectShow), with H.264 recording through OpenCV.
- Mission logging into SQLite, with a mission history and data export for later analysis.
- A calibration wizard for the gyroscope, accelerometer and compass, stored between sessions.
Stack
- C#
- .NET 8
- UART · binary protocol + CRC
- SQLite
- OpenCV
- AForge / DirectShow
threads: C# / .NET, Telemetry & protocols, 3D printing & CAD