Stellamatics

Building underwater robots to reduce cost and emissions. Part of @Techstars Founder Catalyst Watertech and Sustainability Spring 2026. Backed by @mergedotclub

[Nitish Manocha @NitishManocha1]

Last week, I tested the first ROV prototype for @Stellamatics. This was the first half of my Proof of Concept for autonomous ship propeller cleaning.

A lot worked:
- Basic underwater mobility (forward/back/turn/dive)
- Live camera feed over a long tether
- Control system held up better than I expected

And a lot didn’t (which was the point for this demo):
- Waterproofing failure after a few minutes
- Motors are underpowered due to current limits
- Buoyancy control needs to be active, not manual
- Camera clarity and lighting in murky water need a big upgrade

I've built a lot of dry robots, but this was my first time building an underwater robot.
The biggest win here was the data. Every failure has given me a clear design direction for V2. Better sealing, higher thrust, active buoyancy control, and more sensing.

Next up, I'm building and testing the cleaning/polishing module, which is the core of what this robot is meant to do - clean and polish ship propellers.

Back to work now!

https://t.co/1wTw2q25KF

[Stellamatics @Stellamatics]

Building one step at a time!

[Nitish Manocha @NitishManocha1]

The ROV has taken shape.
About ready for the first open pool water test.
Found a special location to test having close to real life environment as ports.
This version:
- Moves forward, back, left, right, up, down
- Can manually adjust buoyancy
- Live camera POV feed to laptop

Demo video coming soon!

[Nitish Manocha @NitishManocha1]

I'm excited to announce I've got a $1k @mergedotclub grant to build my propeller cleaning robot!

All thanks to @FedericoNoemie, @aridutilh, and @mcmgoodall for believing in me and the project.

[Nitish Manocha @NitishManocha1]

One liner @enter_delta
@Stellamatics

[Stellamatics @Stellamatics]

RT @NitishManocha1: Getting the right parts is one of the first few crucial steps for a hardware project.
Step 1 complete, PoC on the way!…

[Nitish Manocha @NitishManocha1]

I just got accepted into the @enter_delta program by @theresidency!
Next 3 weeks are about to be lit🔥LFG!🔥
Thanks a ton for this opportunity!