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Preliminary Research and Documentation

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Figure 1 -  Underwater portion of the SWATH chassis design.

Requirements

Trim or Ballast Tanks 

 

Foam Liner

Steering

Buoyancy Tanks

Thruster Panel

Rudderlet Control

 

 

  • Control between one to four thrusters (electric motor-driven propellers or RIM drive motors) of up to 2 kilowatts per thruster.  
  • Each thruster should be able to be controlled in forward and reverse movement.
  • Precise control of between one and five control surfaces like rudders and fins using marine grade stepper motors so we have directional control and they could potentially be used for stabilizing movement when stationary in the water.
  • A fuel level indicator for gas or diesel.
  • A battery charge level indicator.
  • Control four trim tanks: We will have multiple trim tanks which can be filled or emptied with water with pumps. Two tanks will be at the front (one on the left and one on the right hull). Two tanks will be at the back (one on the left and one on the right hul). These tanks do not need to fill or empty water too fast as the trim will not need to be changed often or rapidly on each trip. 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.
  • Control four buoyancy 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 (TBD).
  • Movement sensor (9 axis accelerometer)
  • Water level sensor in buoyancy tanks
  • Water level sensor of the vessel relative to the ocean
  • Water/air temperature sensor - Optional
  • Additional sensors - Optional
  • The vessel should be able to connect via API to the Ocean Builders web server when in range of the internet (specific APIs to be determined later) - BONUS

 

  

 

Licensing

This project is being developed as an open-source project with the following licensing:

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