Student-Led Autonomous Underwater Robot Seeks Columbia Space Shuttle Debris in Texas Lakes

Dustin Kyle Judson, Chair of the IEEE Student Branch at Stephen F. Austin State University, is spearheading an initiative to develop and deploy an autonomous underwater robot aimed at locating debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia in East Texas lakes. The effort, named LOCATOR—Localized Operations for Cooperative Autonomous Tactical Object Retrieval—is designed to autonomously traverse underwater environments for the detection and recovery of submerged space debris, specifically targeting remnants from the Columbia disaster.

Dustin Kyle Judson is working alongside SFA engineering students Kevin Claypool, Dalton Cardwell, and Ashley Brewster, each contributing to essential areas such as mechanical design, control architecture, and communications systems. This group reflects the advanced capabilities present in the SFA engineering program and shares a unified mission to bring practical robotics to real-world applications.

The project’s current challenge is securing a high-resolution sonar module capable of accurate lakebed mapping and object identification. The LOCATOR team is actively seeking sponsorships and donations from organizations, individuals, and institutions committed to student-led innovation and the preservation of aerospace history.

“From the Pines to the Depths, we’re proving that world-class innovation doesn’t require coastal labs or billion-dollar budgets—it just takes vision and dedication“ says Dustin Kyle Judson, a senior in Electrical Engineering with demonstrated experience in autonomous robotics.

Dustin Kyle Judson’s past work includes:

• A two-robot collaborative navigation platform integrating a mobile ground robot with an autonomous drone for complex pathfinding tasks.

• A SCARA-style robotic arm developed under the SURE Undergraduate Research Grant, focused on precise manipulation.

• An indoor autonomous robot using sensor fusion (LIDAR, IMU, and Kalman filtering) to map and navigate unknown environments in real time.

LOCATOR demonstrates the application of autonomy, embedded systems, and robotics in a tangible context, underscoring what’s possible when undergraduate engineering students tackle high-stakes, technically demanding missions.

For those interested in supporting the effort—whether through funding, equipment support, or collaborative partnerships—please contact the SFA IEEE Student Branch, email Dustin Kyle Judson directly at judsondk@jacks.sfasu.edu, or reach out via the team’s sponsorship channels.