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SCOUT’s Sea Trial a Success!

June 2, 2013 Autopilot / Hull / Iridium / Media / Pictures / Software / Testing / Tracking

After a great sea trial and a good night of sleep (the first in many weeks for some of the crew) we decided to sit down and share one of Scout’s travels and explain a bit about the journey that it took on its 23 hour venture into the ocean.

We left port at Fogland beach in Tiverton at around 11:30pm with Scout running along at around 3 knots. Our crew for the trip was Dylan, Brendan, Mike, Lucy, and Coral (the last of whom has strong affiliations with the Girl Scouts.) The weather was great- a clear night, little wind, and seas of one to two feet. The plan was to set off South and do a rectangular course in the ocean, then head back the next night beginning at midnight so that we’d be back in the early morning.

Our first issues arose at around 1:30am when the LED arrays that were built the same day started to fail. Although we were using two separate battery systems to power each half of the lighting system independently, the crew got together and decided to build an additional light module that could be mounted on the deck in case the other array failed completely. Mike and Brendan mounted a headlamp in a Tupperware, used a portion of a garbage bag to diffuse the light, and came up with a harness system to mount the light with (it’s hard to get duct tape to stick to anything that’s wet, especially when it’s dark out and you’re in a boat taping something to another boat made of post-pealply carbon, which isn’t easily adhered to even when it’s dry.) The harness fit around Scout’s nose and was secured in the back with a line that ran to one of the previously mounted lighting arrays.

Brendan and Mike working on a new lighting system

Brendan, Dylan, and Mike hopped on the whaler to fit the unit on Scout while Lucy and Coral manned the mother ship. From start to finish the operation took only about ten minutes, and left Scout much more visible than before.

Scout after light refit

Astraea/Scout emerged from the mouth of the Sakonnet River at around 3am, and the journey continued. The crew had initially been fueled by excitement and loads of coffee but as both began to wear off, shifts began being selected (the sleeping shifts became more sought after than the deck shifts once we hit 4am or so.)

Lucy keeps herself company in the early morning by playing guitar

Mike keeps himself company in the early morning by playing guitar

The sun emerged and Scout continued along, but the deck crew was focused on sailing and Dylan was asleep by then so we don’t have any sunrise pictures. We do have this picture of Scout motoring along that was taken after someone woke Dylan up because they couldn’t figure out how to use the stove….

Scout motors along during the morning. Everything on the deck is the lights and related power supply used for the trial. Visible at the bow is the harness used to attach the secondary light module.

The day continued on and Scout continued to travel along at between two and three knots. She was pretty easy to keep an eye on, and we had a good idea of where she was thanks to the thrice-hourly messages that we got back from Scout over the Iridium satellite network. During the day Scout was able to fully charge her batteries and had enough power to continue pushing herself along; we were all quite proud of this little boat!

Scout in the distance

Although we had planned to take the trip with just three Scout team members- Dylan, Brendan, and Mike, we were excited that Lucy and Coral were able to come along and help. In addition to letting us sleep longer, having the extra manpower made card games more fun and missions out to Scout during the night more safe.

Coral enjoying a bit of time at the helm

During the middle of the day, a tugboat pulling some equipment came from astern and passed pretty close to us; we had seen her coming from miles away and had tried to get in radio contact to get her course and speed but to no avail. This is where letting your course be decided by an autonomous boat’s computer becomes interesting. We mobilized the whaler to give ourselves every option we could, and then watched the non-responsive boat’s approach on RADAR and found its heading with data from the RADAR and compass-equipped binoculars. It turns out that we had some space, but everyone was on deck and watchful of the situation as it developed.

Coral and Mike in the water, watching Scout

Coral and Mike in the water keeping an eye on Scout

The tension disappeared after the tug passed; there was guitar playing, cooking, and swimming as the afternoon continued and Scout remained glued to her path.

Mike goes for a swim

Coral had snuck a wakeboard along, so she and Mike went wakeboarding (of course, she had brought a drysuit while everyone else was only in shorts.)

Coral might have snuck a wakeboard into the whaler when we weren’t looking

Scout was performing beautifully; it had been sixteen hours since we had turned her on and she was doing a great job with her navigation and power handling.

Sometimes we wear collared shirts to feel like we're fancy

Mike and D sometimes wear collared shirts for testing

After wakeboarding, Mike was dropped off near Scout to take a look at the keel, propeller, and rudder for seaweed accumulation. He found only small amounts of seaweed, but this is probably because there wasn’t much seaweed floating on the surface during this trip.

Mike takes a look at Scout’s keel and rudder to check seaweed buildup

With Scout acting so predictably and hitting waypoints so reliably, we were able to sail comfortably behind her for the majority of the trip. It’s incredible to think that it took us 120 man-hours, a few gallons of fuel, and a bunch of chips and salsa to make the same trip as Scout, which took no fuel and needed no human interaction at all.

Scout runs alongside the Astraea as night falls

At around 6:30pm we decided to upload new coordinates to Scout to send her back up the Sakonnet River; we hadn’t known exactly how fast Scout would go on this trip, so our initial waypoint list ordered an infinite loop in the ocean so that we could upload return coordinates when we wanted to head back. Although the seas were calm, it is always interesting to upload new coordinates to Scout when she is in the water.

Mike, Dylan, and Brendan visit Scout to upload its return coordinates.

After Brendan, Mike, and Dylan returned, we set to cooking a meal and plotting the return course on our charts. We were out about 4 miles from the mouth of the river, and about 12 miles from Fogland. Scout had been performing with an SOG of between 2 and 3 knots (2.3 – 3.5 mph), so the return trip would only take a few hours. We had intended on running throughout this second night as well, but decided to head back early since the next waypoint would have taken us directly away from the river and we were happy to redirect that runtime towards the North.

Mike, Dylan, and Brendan return to Astraea

As we began traveling up the river, passing boats often stopped and asked what the little boat next to us was. It’s difficult to explain the whole project by shouting from boat to boat so we’d usually shout “it’s a robotic boat” and most people were satisfied with that. If any of them were able to understand the domain name that Mike shouted and are reading this, let us know so that we can hear what you thought about seeing Scout navigate under her own power (and with her own computer!)

Curious onlookers inquire as to how a little boat is driving along by itself

Looking back at it, this was a phenomenal trip that taught us a lot about Scout and what to expect from her in the future. It was tremendously exciting to sail alongside a boat that needed no human intervention to navigate the seas; there is something about watching this little boat pick a destination and motor her way there regardless of sea state or wind speed or wind direction or time of day that is just incredible. I would say that the whole crew was so excited that they couldn’t sleep, but most of us took the next day as an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep, celebrate our victories once we woke up at 2 in the afternoon, get a good meal (Dylan found that he could make pancakes on the boat, so we had pancakes and pasta for every meal) and pull the plastic off of Scout so that we could get her ready for another week of work. This test has certainly put the project and our goal in perspective, and while Scout might not be ready for the great Atlantic yet, she is close, and we aren’t giving up. And neither is she.

Spain, expect us.

A Masked Programmer Visits SCOUT Headquarters

May 27, 2013 Iridium / Media / Pictures / Software / Tracking / Work

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While the construction phase of the Scout project has been slowing to an end, it is being replaced with a significant amount of testing. Ryan recently came for a visit to Scout headquarters so that he and Dylan could work towards finalizing Scout’s programming and electronic systems. During his four-day visit, Ryan worked mostly on Scout’s communication systems. Since sending large amounts of information via Iridium satellite connection can be quite expensive, Ryan devised a way to compress all of the data that Scout needs to send into a smaller file which is then uncompressed on our server and automatically uploaded to the Scout tracking page.

Ryan also merged his programming talents with John Wetzel’s design skills and together they developed a great data presentation format for the website. Since Ryan has returned to Massachusetts to work at his real job, he’s working to get the tracking page up and running from there. Hopefully we’ll see it soon!

Scout’s secret programming superhero.

Scout’s Paint Scheme

May 25, 2013 Composites / Hardware / Hull / Media / Pictures / Tracking / Work

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A couple of weeks ago when Mike first came back from Notre Dame for the summer, he brought one of his roommates along with him to spend a week in Tiverton. Instead of getting the Tiverton tour and hanging out at Coastal Roasters for a coffee in the morning, going to the beach, or enjoying a bit of sailing, John Wetzel rapidly integrated himself into the work schedule of Scout (wake up, work on Scout, nap during downtime, drink Redbull), quickly becoming a core team member and a great friend to all.

John and Mike baking a cookie

One of John’s biggest contributions to the project over his week long stay in Rhode Island was his collaboration with one of our programmers, Ryan, who was focusing on developing the live tracking interface which will display the location of Scout and all of the information that it sends back on its journey. We’ll be posting images of the tracking interface in the future.

John’s other big contribution to the project was the paint color scheme and design that we will use on Scout when we paint her in the week leading up to launch. After John assembled twelve preliminary designs based on paint options and design constraints, the crew entered a discussion and selected the final design. Thanks John!

A basic rendering of Scout’s paint scheme

The black Pettit Vivid antifouling bottom paint, donated by longtime Scout supporter Jamestown Distributors, is designed to prevent growth of marine organisms on the hull. The paints used above the waterline are Blue-Glo White and Medium Blue Interlux Brightside Polyurethane.

We’re very excited to reach the painting stage of the project- the physical transformation from gray Duratec to glossy bright white, blue, and black will coincide with the completion of the last of our tests on Scout, and while this event will likely be a few weeks away, we’re looking forward to putting the finishing touches on this incredible project which is now in its third year of development. While the exact launch date will depend on what we find in these final weeks of testing, the boys are confident that Scout’s attempt at breaking the autonomous transatlantic record is on the horizon.

First update of the summer!

May 18, 2013 Composites / Hull / Iridium / Pictures / Software / Tracking / Work

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It’s been a while since anything has been posted to the website, but it’s time to fill everyone in on what’s been going on. The crew is back in Tiverton for a few weeks to do our best to finish SCOUT. The team has been taking advantage of the three week period at the beginning of summer when no one has jobs. This allows the team to work 12-16 hour days uninterrupted (except for mother’s day of course!)

The progress so far has been on both the physical and software aspects of the boat. Recently the team has laminated an additional ply of carbon on the fin keel to help increase torsional stiffness. This carbon was aligned at a 45 degree angle relative to the fin. If bottom growth wasn’t a problem we’d just clear coat the carbon (it’s beautiful) but we intend to do the bottom painting in a week or two, so we’ll only be able to admire it until then. Next up was a new water temperature sensor. Unfortunately the sensor that was installed a few months ago wasn’t responding well, so Brendan ground off the old sensor and installed a new one successfully.

Brendan admiring the new 45s on the keel

As we learn more and more about how many of these systems work, we often find components that must be upgraded and improved. An example of this is the bilge pump. The original bilge pump wasn’t really built to handle full submersion for extended periods of time and operated on a timer instead of a float switch. Today the team completed the installation of a new low current draw pump to help keep SCOUT dry if any water does get inside the hull. There is always more physical work to be done, but the team is working hard to stay on schedule.

The boys relax while SCOUT burns power throughout the night.

While the physical work plugs along, Dylan and Ryan work to keep the software and electronics on track. The key to the software and electronics side of things is testing. Over the past four days the team has had many ups and downs while testing. The first test was a pool test. SCOUT was placed in a pool and set to run for 10 hours so the team could create a voltage curve as the batteries were drained. The test went well, although we lost datalogging capabilities midway through because we used a shoddy USB cable. In typical SCOUT fashion, nothing ever works the first time (and often not the second, third, or the fourth time either. We’ve become used to it.)

Ocean testing

The next test was an ocean test. We towed SCOUT out onto the Sakonnet river to help put the waypoint bypass software to the test. The test had interesting results. At first it seemed that the test was going well, but then SCOUT started turning in circles and headed off in the completely wrong direction, seemingly intent on running full steam into Portsmouth. A standard period of depression ensued because the team didn’t know what could have caused the issue, and we set to the now routinized task of transporting SCOUT back to the garage. Luckily, we discovered that a little water made its way into the compass assembly and resulted in faulty readings. This was on account of our deck sealing methods (when we seal the deck for testing, we usually use blue painter’s tape, which sticks well to the post-pealply carbon surface, unlike most tapes) and the weather (the test was planned for the early morning when the wind and waves would have been more calm, but the crew had a tremendously difficult time waking Dylan up after a long worknight and thus the test occurred post-noon.) We swapped out the compass in a couple of minutes and did a retest in which SCOUT performed flawlessly. This of course won’t be a problem on the crossing, as the compass will be sealed, the deck will be sealed, and we’ll maintain a healthy supply of coffee for the team members.

Brendan, Dan, and Max build a sensor housing

The next big step in the software development is the final code for the Iridum satellite transceiver system. Luckily for the team, our programming guru Ryan Muller will be down for a couple of days and will be invaluable to our success with the data transmission handling. It’s always great to have new faces at the SCOUT headquarters; hopefully we’ll soon have good news about the data transmission, especially since we’ve added pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen sensors purchased from enthusiastic supporters of the project, Atlas Scientific.

Well, that’s all for now. We’ll do our best to keep everyone updated as we get closer to finalizing SCOUT for her transatlantic journey.

SCOUT’s Proposed Route (updated)

September 27, 2012 Other / Pictures / Tracking

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Scout’s destination, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is located on the southern coast of Spain. While we had planned to send Scout to Spain since the very beginning of the project, this particular destination was chosen because it was the port of departure of Christopher Columbus’s third journey to the New World in 1498.

Tercer viaje de Colón: Click to enlarge

The route that Scout will take across the Atlantic plays a massive role in its chance of completing the approximately three thousand mile journey. Many factors will affect the journey including seasonal weather patterns, the Gulf Stream, prevailing winds, Portugal Coastal Current, and shipping traffic. While we’re expecting an average of 1-2 knots of speed, we don’t want to waste any more power than necessary to counteract current and wind.

Scout’s journey will begin off of Fogland Beach in Tiverton, RI. From here it will be escorted south out of the Sakonnet River where it will receive its first taste of the Atlantic Ocean. There are immediate concerns of shipping and boating traffic, which are primary reasons for an escort. The first hurdle Scout will encounter will be the Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current moving northward along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

The Gulf Stream: Click to enlarge

This current has its own unpredictable weather system; warm and cold core eddies can cause freak storms. Dane Clark, a professional meteorologist with extensive experience in ocean current forecasting, will assist the team in up to date thermal images and his interpretations of conditions of these Atlantic currents.

The next decision is to go one of two ways- send Scout on the shorter “Great Circle route” or a longer route that may have more favorable weather. Sending Scout North allows for a shorter time at sea, but leaves us with a greater chance of encountering Arctic storms, fog/cloud cover, and heavier shipping traffic. The longer route would cut straight across the 40th parallel, then skirt above the Azores and to Spain. The longer route may allow for Scout to encounter less shipping traffic; the Mid-Atlantic High provides light winds and sunshine. There are benefits and drawbacks to each route, and we’re working to take these into account as we move forward towards planning Scout’s trip.

SCOUT 2012: New Video

September 25, 2012 Media / Pictures

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We thought that it was time to take a step back and look at the distance we’ve traveled so far. I hope you enjoy this short video that we put together- we’re looking forward to finishing SCOUT this winter!
Let us know what you think down below in the comments, feel free to share that video, and subscribe via email here to keep up with the latest on the project.

What happens when SCOUT flips over?

September 18, 2012 Hull / Media / Pictures

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Hi everyone-

One question that we get all the time is “What happens if Scout flips over?” Let’s take a look.

Scout is designed, like any keelboat, to right itself when it flips over. This is how it works:

If we didn’t build the boat with an angled deck, it would be pretty stable upside down [A]. This is because the center of gravity is pulled pretty low by the heavy solar panels, and since the keel is directly above the boat, it doesn’t help to right the boat; it only pushes it downwards. Of course, waves and wind would eventually push the boat back over, but in these examples we’ll forget about those.

Figure B shows the boat upside down with the angled deck (as she’s built now). Because the hull (yellow outline) is submerged, it will try and balance the upward force on the boat, so the left side of the boat will rise until it looks like figure C. Here, we identify the angle that the boat is pushed off of vertical with a red line segment. Since the keel bulb shifts to the right, it’s now free to exert more force on the boat and begins to pull it over [D]. Figure E shows us the boat finishing its rotation, and F is what Scout normally looks like when it’s in the water.

I hope this answered some questions! Feel free to comment in the box below, and definitely ask us any questions that you’ve been kicking around- electronics, software, hull, anything.

Dylan

Testing Tonight: Evelyns Dock in Tiverton RI [6pm]

August 13, 2012 Pictures / Software / Work

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Some good news and some bad news from the Scout crew.

This past weekend a long distance test was planned for Scout. A trip to an island, Cuttyhunk, off the coast of Massachusetts was planned, the crew minus Max (in Europe visiting his fabulous girlyfriend), and Dan (climbing in Wyoming) set the boat up for what was hoped to be a successful test. As is usual, the crew got very little sleep leading up to the test.

Mike, Lucy, and Brendan wake up Dylan after four hours of sleep but fall asleep while he takes a shower

Unfortunately as the crew was ready to go a road block was hit. The charge controller for the solar panels could not handle the amount of voltage the solar panels were delivering. Yes, we had too much power. In order to get a break and show the world that the crew does other things than just Scout, the trip to Cuttyhunk continued, with a day spent surfing, fishing and swimming.

As of today (Monday August, 13) a new charge controller has been ordered and is anticipated to arrive tomorrow, so hopefully the problem will be resolved quickly.

The good news is that the rest of the crew is back, and spirits are high. Testing is planned for this afternoon at 6:00 off of the Evelyns dock in Nanaquaket pond. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to join us this evening. We will be testing programing that helps to ensure Scout will not backtrack to hit a waypoint it has missed. We hope to see everyone at the dock tonight!

Testing

August 10, 2012 Autopilot / Hull / Media / Pictures / Software / Work

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The Girlscouts have decided to start a new campaign in which they spread Girlscout propaganda around Max’s workshop (and paint it on our car windows).

We put Scout on Brendan’s car to bring it to Nanaquaket pond for a bit of testing. We set a zigzag course of about two miles for Scout to follow.

We started at around 7 o’clock and ran Scout for about two hours. During this time we tested a number of its functions, including:

Point to point navigation

EEPROM write functions (so that Scout doesn’t forget what the next waypoint is if the battery runs flat)

“Backdown” sequence that reverses the motor for 30 seconds every few hours in attempts to shed weeds and other debris

Wireless command recognition and wireless data logging (this will be useful for our longer tests)

Steering sensitivity (we don’t want to be overcorrecting with the rudder.)

The tests went very well; we were able to collect some baseline information about power consumption and Scout’s handling. Our plan is to bring it to Cuttyhunk from Tiverton this weekend, to test the bugfixes that we made and give us enough time to test a few new features.

First water testing

July 27, 2012 Autopilot / Hull / Iridium / Pictures / Work

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: The boys load Scout on Dan’s car for an evening of testing on Nonquit Pond.

: At Nonquit, getting ready to unload the boat.

: The goal for tonight is to see how Scout floats with additional weight that simulates the panels and deck, do a bit of motoring around, and provide a motivational boost to the crew.