This project is on its first initial loops with lots of prototyping to become familiar with the mechanics that is going to steer the boat. The high level requirements look like this:
The high level requirements
The solution should
- be a low cost Autopilot for motorboats with wired steering
- be done only with feedback on the control loop from direction measured on either GPS or compass
- be mounted in the boat with a minimum of technical skill and with a minimum of changes to the boat.
- be controlled based on existing and well known consoles (like a smart phone)
- be implemented with an adaptive/pre configured control loop and not require the owner to enter any (or a minimum of) steering settings
- be running on voltage supplied by battery pack of the boat (12 VDC).
The main focus here will be on Building the App to controll the steering mechanism.
To see the project sheet as it is now, please download this paper : PDF
Other Pages Relevant to this project
- Here are some technical translations from english to danish Technical Terms and Translations (Picture to English)
- To get a better understanding of what an autopilot actually is please read this site : Basic Introduction to AutoPilots for Small Boats
Examples of existing systems:
Martyr Octopus Striaght Shaft Auto Pilot with Rudder Feedback
Youtube video of the Raymarine auto pilot.
Arduino Parts included:
Arduino Uno Board – Arduino Uno R3
Compass – LSM303DLM 3D Compass and Accelerometer Carrier with Voltage Regulators
Motordriver – Pololu High-Power Motor Driver 18v15
Current Sensor – ACS711LC Current Sensor Carrier -25A to +25A
Other Related Documentation
Short description of a PID Control Loop
Arduino PID Adaptive Tunings Example
NMEA C Library