Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
24 Autonomous Sailboat (2)
 Austin Glass
Devansh Damani
MICHAEL Sutanto
 Koushik Udayachandran design_document2.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
photo1.jpg
photo2.jpg
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
proposal2.pdf
# Team Members:
- Austin Glass (akglass2)
- Devansh Damani (ddamani2)

# Problem
Given a starting point, destination, path, and environmental factors such as wind speed or water current, a boat can travel both autonomously or remotely.

Specifically, as stated by the project pitch, the goal is to improve the performance achieved by an earlier iteration of this project, as well as demonstrating new capabilities.

We aim to be able to seamlessly switch between autonomous control and remote user control. We also aim to introduce ease of life features like battery indicators, simpler charging / batteries, and an autonomous return to user mode.

# Solution
Our end goal is to make sure we have a boat that autonomously or remotely is able to traverse a body of water regardless of the water’s conditions. By meeting our criterions for success, we believe that we will succeed in creating such a boat.

# Solution Components
_Note: Many of these components, besides the speed sensor and ultrawideband, are already incorporated in the Spring 2022 design of the boat. As discussed with Professor Fliflet, these will be provided as is, and will be utilized with our improvements and changes_

## Subsystem 1 - The Boat
The boat itself is built, with controllable rudders and sail trim. These elements operate the boat, changing its direction and speed as it picks up wind.

## Subsystem 2 - Compass Sensor (LSM303)
The compass works to direct the boat along its path. If it needs to travel north, this data can be taken in and be processed along with the wind direction to direct the boat. The compass also works to detect heeling, which is necessary for telling its current orientation on the water (i.e. if it is impacted by waves).

## Subsystem 3 - Wind Direction Sensor (RotaryEncoder library)
Similarly to the compass, this information is crucial to determine the sail and rudder positions, as there is an optimal orientation for the desired direction with a given wind direction.

## Subsystem 4 - GPS (NEO-6M GPS)
Locates the current position of the boat, and can be verified for current and targeted path, as well as data for testing accuracy.

## Subsystem 5 - Remote Control (FlySky FS-i6 Remote)
Remote control for operating the boat at a distance.

## Subsystem 6 - Speed Sensor
A new speed sensor can be added to the boat to help calculate its current and future position, potentially allowing for some predictability in its movement that could increase accuracy.

## Subsystem 7 - Ultra Wideband Chip (DWM1001)
To return back to a user, an ultrawideband chip could be used to determine where the boat is in relation to the user (located at the base station), and direct the boat back towards them. This can be combined with other data like compass data to determine the direction needed to travel.


# Criterion For Success
Our main criterion for measuring success is making sure that the boat is able to autonomously travel in a straight line adjusting for the wind, water current and speed and other criteria. In the prior project, there hasn't been enough testing conducted, which is one of our biggest goals.

Regular testing in an outdoor environment, preferably in differing weather conditions, to prove the versatility of the boat and the autonomous code would be necessary. We will do this to test the sensors to verify if they maintain the boat’s linear and autonomous motion.

Working with Professor Fliflet to make sure we are starting from the right point with the project, not doing any work that has already been completed, and making efficient use of our time on improvements.

Wireless IntraNetwork

Daniel Gardner, Jeeth Suresh

Wireless IntraNetwork

Featured Project

There is a drastic lack of networking infrastructure in unstable or remote areas, where businesses don’t think they can reliably recoup the large initial cost of construction. Our goal is to bring the internet to these areas. We will use a network of extremely affordable (<$20, made possible by IoT technology) solar-powered nodes that communicate via Wi-Fi with one another and personal devices, donated through organizations such as OLPC, creating an intranet. Each node covers an area approximately 600-800ft in every direction with 4MB/s access and 16GB of cached data, saving valuable bandwidth. Internal communication applications will be provided, minimizing expensive and slow global internet connections. Several solutions exist, but all have failed due to costs of over $200/node or the lack of networking capability.

To connect to the internet at large, a more powerful “server” may be added. This server hooks into the network like other nodes, but contains a cellular connection to connect to the global internet. Any device on the network will be able to access the web via the server’s connection, effectively spreading the cost of a single cellular data plan (which is too expensive for individuals in rural areas). The server also contains a continually-updated several-terabyte cache of educational data and programs, such as Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg. This data gives students and educators high-speed access to resources. Working in harmony, these two components foster economic growth and education, while significantly reducing the costs of adding future infrastructure.