Technical Specification: Autonomous Sailing Vessel

Kelly, David (2018) Technical Specification: Autonomous Sailing Vessel. Undergraduate thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

This report outlines the design of a software and hardware solution for automating sailing in a model craft. The report investigates the commercial and technical viability of using off-the-shelf components to implement a waterborne transportation solution. The system utilizes Internet of Things hardware such as the Raspberry Pi, Espressif ESP and Arduino platforms. The system will also use an android client for user input. In culmination, the system will let a user input coordinates through an Android client and the vessel’s onboard software will make all other necessary inputs to guide the vessel to the destination.

The inspiration for this project came from looking at the environmental impact of current shipping practices along with the shockingly high costs involved with the process. While there are some commercial implementations into autonomous watercraft, there is a wide space to explore viability in low powered solar or wind-based solutions.

An overview of the system includes an Android client for user input. This will communicate with the vessel though the MQTT messaging service. The boat will have several ways of listening for commands including WiFi and LoRa Data. The boat will parse the message payload and will make decisions based on the current environment, and through a set of predetermined behaviors, will make attempt to reach the user’s destination. The boat itself will have a number of onboard sensors to aid in understanding the surrounding environment. These sensors include ultrasonic sensors, gyroscopes, pressure and temperature sensors and wind direction sensors.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Subjects:	Q Science > QA Mathematics > Electronic computers. Computer science T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Electronic computers. Computer science Q Science > QA Mathematics > Computer software T Technology > T Technology (General) > Information Technology > Computer software G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences > Environment H Social Sciences > HE Transportation and Communications > Water Transportation > Shipping
Divisions:	School of Computing > Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computing
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	06 Nov 2018 15:54
Last Modified:	06 Nov 2018 15:54
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/3456

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