IDEA:

Solar powered, autonomous boat + payload (e.g. drone, environmental sensors, small submarine) system

SubSystems:
Power
Location Services
Communications
Steering Boat/Motors + Boat design
Pathfinding/Wayfinding
User Interface
Payload/Applications:
Drones
Environmental Sensor
Submarines
Others

Power: Specification: Boat will need to have enough wattage from solar panels + onboard battery to power it’s motor/fans and onboard components.
Components: Solar panels Charging circuit/chip Lithium-Ion Batteries

Location Services:
Specification:
Need to find, in real time, location of the boat and transmit back to home (see communications).
Components: GPS Module (here) + Antenna (here) + possible adapter
Communications:
Specification:
Communicate video feed from boat camera back to home base
Communicate video feed from payload (if necessary, e.g. drone payload) and/or other data (e.g. water sensor data) to home base, either directly (needs more interesting components, cellphone/satellite) or to the boat then back (can use
Operate at distant ranges e.g. 1,000 miles and in remote locations without cell phone signal

Components:
Either a satellite receiver/communicator OR a cellphone chip that’s 3G. AT&T provides pretty good telephone coverage. See here
Can maybe use a satellite dish?
Anthony: OneSim
Idea for satellite dish: Boat has a satellite dish on board for internet/whatever. Drone is RC/cellphone tower controlled.

Steering Boat/Motors + Boat design:
To be determined.
Pathfinding/Wayfinding:
User Interface:
Specification:
Enter path details, start/end location, checkpoints.

Payload/Applications:
Option 1: Drones
Can be used for so many things. Inspection of offshore devices (windmills, oil & gas rigs – excellent niches). Environmental monitoring/forest imaging. Maybe even rescue missions.

Option 2: Environmental Water Quality Sensors Current solutions use solar powered buoys, at best. A single boat could probably do the entire lake michigan each day, compared to 50+ buoys,.

Option 3: Submarines
Submarines! Underwater Rovers! Use these autonomous solar powered boats as carrying devices/vessels for these submarines/underwater rovers. Can be a huge asset for ocean exploration.
Option 4: Others



WEEK BY WEEK

Electronic Design & Production:
Full circuit board – some placeholders

Molding & Casting:
Unclear, do whatever you want

Computer Controlled Machining:
Maybe the boat hull / design itself

Input Devices:
Add on a camera, power input, environmental sensors, location services gps

Output Devices:
Servo motors, regular motors

Networking & Communications:
Get the satellite stuff sorted out

Interface & Application Programming:
All the front end / UI / full stack integration, pathfinding / wayfinding

Mechanical Design:
Unclear, do whatever you want

BASIC PROTOTYPING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAMwKUzJQgQ Add on solar panels: