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Swath Movement & Operational Controls

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Overview

Overview: We need to build a movement and operational control system that can be used in a swath vessel.vessel (what is a swath?) or our SeaPod GT model. This same system can be slightly modified and used in these additional projects Plug in platforms, Self Connecting Platforms, and Aquatic Service Drone. Here is a 1:20 scale model we built. A full full-size model is about 30% complete at our factory. HereWe is background on whatneed a swathnavigation vesseland is.

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Requirements:

control

Heresystem isfor thethis Project Management Page.vessel.

 

Sensors:Requirements

  • MovementControl (9 axis sensors)
  • Water/Air temperature
  • Additional sensors are optional

Project Prizes:

  • Level 1: Outline of Proposal (Up to 3 winners will be choosen: $100 paid in bitcoin)
  • Level 2: Basic proof of principle with 2 sensors & 2 motor controllers works some components
  • Level 3: 

We need to be able to control:

  • Betweenbetween one to four thrusters (electric motor motor-driven propellers or RIM drive motors) of up to 2 kilowatts per thruster. We are currently using these trusters.
  • ControlEach thruster should be able to be controlled in forward and reverse movement.
  • Precise control of one and five control surfaces like rudders and fins using stepper motors so we have directional control and they could potentially be used for stabilizing movement when stationary in the water.
  • KeepA fuel level indicator for gas or diesel.
  • FourA battery charge level indicator.
  • Control four Trim Control Tanks: We will have multiple trim tanks which can be filled or emptied rapidlywith water with water. There will be 4 small tanks to adjust trim.pumps. Two tanks will be at the front (one on the left and one of the right). Two tanks will be at the back (one on the left and one of the right). These tanks do not need to fill or empty water too fast as the trim will not need to be changed often or rapidly. They will help keep the vessel level when weight is moved around on the passenger platform. We will need pumps to move the water or air from tank to tank.
  • FourControl Bouyancyfour Buoyancy Control Tanks: We will have up to four buoyancy control tanks which will add/remove water/air as needed from the tanks to adjust the height of the vessel depending on whether the vessel is in movement or docked or in other situations that require the height to be adjusted.
  • All pumps will run on 12, 24 or 48VDC
  • The vessel should be able to connect via API to the Ocean Builders web server when in range of internet (specific API's to be determined later).
  • Movement (9 axis accelerometer) -  REQUIRED 
  • Water level sensor in buoyancy tanks -  REQUIRED 
  • Water level sensor of vessel relative to the ocean -  REQUIRED 
  • Water/Air temperature - Optional
  • Additional sensors- Optional

Additional 

controls
Project Prizes

Winner(s) for each level will be judged by Ocean Builders and the Sponsor.

  • Level 1: Submit a detailed outline of your proposal. Up to 3 winning teams or individual applicants will be choosen based solely on your detailed proposal. Prize for this level is set to $100 which will be paid by our sponsor in Ghost cryptocurrency to each team entry or single member applicants.
  • Level 2: Build a basic working proof of principle hardware device with any 2 required sensors (can't be the same for both) & controllers for 2 thrusters that allow variable forward and reverse control.
  • Level 3: Use accelerometer to control pumps in trim tanks to balance the vessel in changing weight distribution conditions
  • Level 4: Control the height of the vessel by pumping air into buoyancy control tanks
  • Level 5: 
  • BONUS: Connect to the Ocean Builders backend server with API's. Prize is $500 paid in Ghost.

 

Here is the Project Management Page (coming soon).

 

Participants:Participants/Teams: 

Project Manager:Manager
Grant Romundt (temporary). The main project manager will be announced soon.
We have a full scale size fiberglass model that is about 50% complete but currently on hold.
We have a very futuristic/fancy design for the top passenger section (below). The part that goes on top is mostly just for show and isn't so important in terms of the engineering that needs to be done. This area only has a conceptual design ready at this point and can be changed/modified as needed.
My fiberglass expert is going to start investigating the feasibility of making the passenger section this week.
From you, I would love to see what you could do on the engineering side for the base (under the water section) to see what kind of buoyancy we would have and how much weight we could support on the top passenger section above the waterline. We would ideally like to carry 2-4 people + some baggage. We are using electric thrusters so we will need space for enough lithium batteries to make 20-40 mile+ trips. Feedback and suggestions on how to modify the swath base to improve buoyancy, stability, maneoverability, etc are very welcome.
We are using 2 PR212 motors from here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d66b3fa2b391600011db85d/t/5e25fdc8a29f9d6b4e4bd927/1579548110947/Product+specifications+Propulsion+motor+168.pdf). I'm also interested in your opinion on what kind of turn characteristics a vessel like this would have?

 

This project is being developed as an open source project with the following open source licensing:
  • Software: 
  • Hardware, Design & other Intellectual Property: 

License: 

Related Project(s): Dynamic Positioning, Swath Engineering

 

Sponsorship

SponsoredPrizes By:for Anonymousthis project are sponsored by Ghost and they will be held in escrow by Ocean Builders until each prize level has been completed.

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