Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover

Mojtaba Ghodsi; Muhammad Javed; Htoo Aung Lin; Abdul Aziz Al Muqaimi; Mortezaa Mohammadzaheri; Sotirios Spanogianopoulos

doi:10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315

Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover

Mojtaba Ghodsi
, Muhammad Javed
, Htoo Aung Lin
, Abdul Aziz Al Muqaimi
, Mortezaa Mohammadzaheri
, Sotirios Spanogianopoulos

School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering

German University of Technology

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper presents a compact solar-powered amphibious rover designed for operation on both land and water. Intended for environmental monitoring, education, and short autonomous missions, the rover uses a photovoltaic energy harvesting system with supercapacitor storage for lightweight and fast-response power delivery. Terrestrial propulsion is provided by dual N20 micro gear motors, while buoyant structural elements ensure stable water operation. An ESP32 microcontroller handles power management, motor control, and Bluetooth-based remote operation. Analytical power calculations and experimental results confirm successful energy harvesting, controlled mobility, and stable performance over a five-minute mission, demonstrating the feasibility of battery-free solar-powered robots for sustainable dual-terrain applications.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	2026 12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications (ICARA)
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	499-504
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331563530
ISBN (Print)	9798331563547
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315
Publication status	Published - 21 Apr 2026
Event	12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications, ICARA 2026 - Istanbul, Turkey Duration: 5 Feb 2026 → 7 Feb 2026

Publication series

Name	IEEE ICARA Proceedings
ISSN (Print)	2767-7737
ISSN (Electronic)	2767-7745

Conference

Conference	12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications, ICARA 2026
Country/Territory	Turkey
City	Istanbul
Period	5/02/26 → 7/02/26

Keywords

amphibious rover
ESP32
photovoltaic energy harvesting
Solar-powered robotics
supercapacitors

Access to Document

10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315

Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious roverAccepted author manuscript (Post-print), 916 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Ghodsi, M., Javed, M., Lin, H. A., Al Muqaimi, A. A., Mohammadzaheri, M., & Spanogianopoulos, S. (2026). Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover. In 2026 12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications (ICARA) (pp. 499-504). (IEEE ICARA Proceedings). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315

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title = "Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover",

abstract = "This paper presents a compact solar-powered amphibious rover designed for operation on both land and water. Intended for environmental monitoring, education, and short autonomous missions, the rover uses a photovoltaic energy harvesting system with supercapacitor storage for lightweight and fast-response power delivery. Terrestrial propulsion is provided by dual N20 micro gear motors, while buoyant structural elements ensure stable water operation. An ESP32 microcontroller handles power management, motor control, and Bluetooth-based remote operation. Analytical power calculations and experimental results confirm successful energy harvesting, controlled mobility, and stable performance over a five-minute mission, demonstrating the feasibility of battery-free solar-powered robots for sustainable dual-terrain applications.",

keywords = "amphibious rover, ESP32, photovoltaic energy harvesting, Solar-powered robotics, supercapacitors",

author = "Mojtaba Ghodsi and Muhammad Javed and Lin, \{Htoo Aung\} and \{Al Muqaimi\}, \{Abdul Aziz\} and Mortezaa Mohammadzaheri and Sotirios Spanogianopoulos",

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doi = "10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315",

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Ghodsi, M, Javed, M, Lin, HA, Al Muqaimi, AA, Mohammadzaheri, M & Spanogianopoulos, S 2026, Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover. in 2026 12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications (ICARA). IEEE ICARA Proceedings, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 499-504, 12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications, ICARA 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 5/02/26. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICARA69401.2026.11480315

Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover. / Ghodsi, Mojtaba; Javed, Muhammad; Lin, Htoo Aung et al.
2026 12th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Applications (ICARA). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026. p. 499-504 (IEEE ICARA Proceedings).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

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Development of a compact solar-powered amphibious rover

Abstract

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Keywords

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