The LORCA unmanned boats were designed and built in the Lehigh Composites Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics at Lehigh University. They have electric propulsion and onboard autopilots. The design is self-righting which is beneficial when operating in higher sea states. The hull and deck were manufactured together as a single part, using autoclave-cured carbon fiber reinforced epoxy without any seams or joints. The top speed is over 50 mph. Click here to watch a video of a LORCA in action on the Lehigh River.
Below: (left) Prof. Grenestedt inspects the hull of a LORCA. (right) A fleet of LORCAs lined up ready for open water testing.
This work was led by Prof. Joachim Grenestedt in collaboration with John Spletzer with support from the Office of Naval Research and Lehigh University.