Knight Boat:

Design of an Autonomous, Homing Surface Vessel

2.017, Spring 2006

Design of Systems Operating in Random Environments

Seth Clark, Evan Karlik, Harry Lichter, Mitul Luhar, Cha-Ling O’Connell,
Roberto Rangel, James Sannino, Nina Young
Boat Layout with Weight and Balance

Hydrophone #2
Trolling, Hydrofoil #2
Small Battery #1
Diagram
Steering Motor, of Layout with Components Specified
And Mount Transducer
Hydrophone #1 Motor
Controller
Acoustics
Box
Board Amplifier

Compass

GPS
Wireless
Large Battery #1
SBC

Small Battery #2
Large Battery #2
Hydrofoil #1
Hydrophone #3
The Team
 Mission Objectives

1. Demonstrate homing to subsurface

acoustic beacon
2. Sea State 3 conditions
3. Navigation in global frame: GPS, compass
4. Waypoint autopilot capability
 Application
• AUV tracking

• Short-baseline
system
 Subsystem Ranking

1. Floats upright, stable, survivable

2. Power system
3. Wireless communication
4. Propulsion and steering
5. Acoustic sensing and ranging
6. Navigation (GPS, compass)
 Hardware: 2005 vs. 2006

• Inherited:
– vessel hull (3.66m Pungo 120 kayak)

– wireless modems, GPS, compass

– thruster, steering motor
– hydrophones, transducer
• New to 2006:
– single-board computer (SBC), software
– motor controller
– long-range wireless antenna
– circuitry for acoustics and powering

Flotation

and

Stability

 Design Decision

Primary Objective: Ability to float and remain

in an upright position at Sea State 3

• Trimaran design
– 3.66m Pungo 120 kayak hull
– Two foam outriggers, mounting with 80/20
aluminum extrusion
• Outriggers:
– Better overall stability
– Larger and more stable base for mounting
hydrophones
Diagrams of Outrigger Design

Rendered Image
 Diagrams of Outrigger Design

Two 0.15m x 0.20m x 0.89m foam blocks sculpted and

tapered for better streamlining, coated with fiberglass.

Side View
Diagrams of Outrigger Design

Rear View
Diagrams of Outrigger Design

Top View
 Hydrophone Mounting

• Hydrofoil-shaped fin will be vertically

inserted through outriggers
• Hydrophones vertically mounted within the
hydrofoil fins.
– hydrophones are toroidal
– grill carved into the lower portion of the fin

Kayak with Outriggers Mounted

 Stability Tests

• Simulated version of the final

hull/outrigger system
• Inclining experiment

– hull/outrigger design much more stable than the

monohull version
• Initial condition response experiment

– displayed the outriggers’ ability to quickly stabilize

the kayak
Mock-up Hull/Outrigger System used in
Stability Tests

Mock-up Design in Tow Tank Mock-up Outrigger Design

 Inclining Experiment

• Determine magnitude of the righting moment at

different angles
• 1.5m aluminum bar was attached to the kayak 1.6m
forward of the stern
• 72 kg of ballast added
• Digital level
• Vessel inclined with weights

– up to 89Nm.

Weights were added at a known distance to

create an applied moment. The angle of heel
was then measured.
 Inclining Experiment: Data

Roll Trial 1 Roll Trial 2

No. Weights Weight (N) Moment (NM)
(Degrees) (Degrees)

0 0 0 0.2 -0.7

1 23.422 17.00 1.4 0

2 46.84 35.60 2.9 0.8

3 70.262 53.40 4.75 1.8

4 93.684 71.20 6.8 2.7

5 117.106 89.00 8.8 3.6

Inclining Experiment: Monohull
Inclining Experiment: Trimaran
Results of Inclining Experiment for Hull With
Outriggers

100
90
80
Moment Arm (Nm)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10
Roll (Degrees)
Trial 1
Trial 2
 Comparison of Inclining Experiment Results for Monohull and
Multihull Options

100

90

80
Multihull 72kg
70
Ballast Trial 1
Moment Arm (Nm)

Multihull 72kg
60 Ballast Trial 2
50 Monohull 65kg
Ballast
40
Monohull 89 kg
30 Ballast

20

10

0
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Roll (Degrees)

We compared the Monohull and Multihull Designs to pick the

more stable option
Inclining Experiment: Conclusions

•Trimaran design superior in terms of

stability.

•Monohull design (ballasted with 89 kg)

rolled to an angle of 10 degrees after

4.3Nm moment

•Modified outrigger design rolled only 8.8

degrees when a 89.0Nm moment was

applied!

 Initial Condition Response Experiment

• Accelerometers at two different positions on

the kayak
• Outriggers pushed down until the entire foam
section submerged
• Kayak springs back from buoyancy

• Outriggers provides more stable roll condition

than the monohull design
– Rights itself from disturbances of 30 degrees
within 1 sec
– Remains stable when forced in opposite directions

Initial Condition Response Experiment

ONE IMPULSE ON IMPULSES ON

OUTRIGGER OPPOSITE SIDES

Virtually no ringing - 30˚ Impulses die out within 2 seconds

 Trim Table

(Meters)
Item x- y- z-
# Component Name Mass (Kg) position position position
1 *Kayak 22.5 1.83 0 0.15
2 *Motor - Trolling 10.43 1 0 -0.33
*Motor -
3 Steering(azumuth) 2 1 0
4 *Large Battery #1 22.68 1.48 0 0.2
5 *Large Battery #2 22.68 2.22 0 0.2
6 *Small Battery #1 2.27 1.67 0.02
7 *Small Battery #2 2.27 1.67 -0.02
8 Wireless 1 2.37 0
9 *Transducer 1.81 1.83 0
10 *Hydrophone #1 1.25 1 0
11 *Amplifier 4.76 2.75 0
12 *GPS 0.45 1.3 0
13 *Compass 0.45 0.48 0
 (Meters)

Item # Component Name Mass (Kg) x- position y-position z-position

14 Outrigger System 16.3 2.8 0 0.4

15 Hydrophone #2 1.25 2.8 0.9
16 Hydrophone #3 1.25 2.8 -0.9
17 Hydrofoil #1 1 2.8 0.9
18 Hydrofoil #2 1 2.8 -0.9
19 80/20 rack 10.8 2.8 0
20 Outrigger #1 0.5 2.8 0.9
21 Outrigger #2 0.5 2.8 -0.9
22 *Trolling Motor Mount 3.18 1 0
23 *Acoustics Board 0.91 1.67 0
24 *Travel Cover for Cockpit 0.91 1.83 0
25 *Waterproofing 0.91 1.83 0
26 *Electronics (wires, etc) 0.91 1.83 0
27 SBC in waterproof box 1 1.92 -0.14
28 Motor Controller Box 1 1.92 0.1

Total Displacement 119.67

Moment Arm*Mass
Item # x y z
1 41.175 0 3.375
2 10.43 0 -3.4419
3 2 0 0
4 33.5664 0 4.536
5 50.3496 0 4.536 x y z
6 3.7909 0.0454 0
Weighted 15.525
7 3.7909 -0.0454 0
Sum 225.1017 -0.04 1
8 2.37 0 0
9 3.3123 0 0
10 1.25 0 0
11 13.09 0 0
12 0.585 0 0
13 0.216 0 0
14 45.64 0 6.52
15
LCG 1.88102
16
17
18 TCG -0.000334
19
20 VCG 0.129733
21
22 3.18 0 0
23 1.5197 0 0
24 1.6653 0 0
25 1.6653 0 0
26 1.6653 0 0
27 1.92 -0.14 0
1.92 0.1 0
Boat Layout with Weight and Balance

Hydrophone #2
Trolling, Hydrofoil #2
Small Battery #1
Diagram
Steering Motor, of Layout with Components Specified
And Mount Transducer
Hydrophone #1 Motor
Controller
Acoustics
Box
Board Amplifier

Compass

GPS
Wireless
Large Battery #1
SBC

Small Battery #2
Large Battery #2
Hydrofoil #1
Hydrophone #3
 Trim Table: Hull Characteristics

Area of Waterplane (m^2) 1.45

I_x_kayak (m^4) 0.04
I_x_pontoon (m^4) 0.10 KM = KB + BM
Displacement (kg) 117.67 GM = KM - KG
Volume of Displacement BM =
(m^3) 0.12 I_x_pontoon/Volume of
Displacement
BM (m) 1.96 KG = VCG
KM (m) 2.00 KB ~ 0.04m
KG (m) 0.13

GM (m) (Metacentric Height) 1.87

Motor Control

 Thruster Control

• 24V trolling motor is boat’s only thruster

• Trolling motor controller simply takes

analog signal of 0-3.1V to control power
• The SBC produces analog signal of 0-10V

– voltage divider used to obtain the 0-3.1 volts

 Thruster
controlled
wirelessly
Steering System
 Servo Control
• two circuit boards control 24V Servo Motor
• serial adaptor board
• PICservo motor control board
• two digital control signals sent from SBC
to the PICservo board
– steady signal to indicate direction

– pulse of at least .2µs for each motor encoder

step
• 33 steps/degree on servo motor

• SBC counts each step sent to determine

the current motor position
SBC Buffer
NMCtest.exe
PICservo Box
Boat Hardware
Vessel Control

 SBC
serial ports

keyboard

hard drive
to screen analog I/O

digital I/O
fan

on/off/reset
 Communications

SBC

Sine
Wireless Thruster Low Pass
Compass GPS Generator
Controller Filter
Modem XR2206

Audio Modulation
Antenna Thruster
Amplifier AD630

PICservo Azimuth Band Pass

Transformer
Board Motor Filter

Programmable
Transducer Gain
Smart Serial Amplifier
Laptop
Adapter

Hydrophones
Power Systems
 laptop SBC

9V
USB

12 V
USB RF
modem
RS-232 RF
modem

long-range 12 V
antenna
MAIN Control Interface
• Visual C++
w Wireless Test – SBC
– serial modem
r Remote Control
• CrossCut (serial
I/O)
c Steer Straight-Line Course
– laptop
– USB modem
g GPS Waypoint

a Acoustic Homing

MENU
 Remote Control

* * * * *

REMOTE CONTROL MODE:

t - Enter new thrust (0 to 100)

s - Enter new motor angle (-90 to 90)

c - Jump to Steer Straight-Line Course

u - Update

x - Stop vehicle, return to Mode Menu

Enter choice:

 Acoustics
and
Signal Processing
 Acoustic System Overview
• Objective: Track transponder moving at 1.5 m/s within
100 m
• Short-Baseline System
 Acoustic System Overview

Hardware:
• Transducer used to create source signal
• Transponder responds
• Hydrophones (H1, H2, H3) receive response

Signal Processing and Software

• Autocorrelation used to calculate receiving time
differences
• Triangulation used to locate transponder

 Transducer
330 0 30

300 60
Most transducers
incapable of <2 kHz 270 90

ITC 1001 Figure by MIT OCW. 240 120

10dB/div
• Piezo-Electric 210 180 150

• Spherical Transducer
Directivity Pattern at 18.0 kHz

• Peak TVR [18kHz]: 150

dB re µPa/V @ 1m
149 dB re µPa/V @ 1m 140
130
120 Transmitting Voltage Response

i.e. 10(149 - 120)/20 Pa per 110

1 V input @ 1 m 2 10 18 26 34
Frequency in kHz

Figure by MIT OCW.

 Transponder and Hydrophones

Sonardyne 7656 Transponder

• Receive Sensitivity:
100 dB re µPa @ 1m
• Transmit Source Level: Sonardyne type 7656 Transponder
188 dB re µPa @ 1m

STL SQ03 Hydrophone

• Frequency Response:
1-65000 Hz
• Receive Sensitivity:
-195 dB V re 1 µPa @ 1m
STL SQ03 Hydrophone
• 40dB pre-amplifier
 Transducer Voltage

• Convenient Transponder Operating Frequency Channel:

Source: 20.49 kHz

Response: 29.76 kHz

• Can use conventional Audio Amplifiers to fire Transducer

Estimate voltage needed at transducer for 1 km range

• Transducer TVR = 145 dB re µPa/V @ 1m
• Transponder Sensitivity = 100 dB re µPa @ 1m
• Transmission losses at 1 km = 20 log10(1000) = 60 dB
• V = 100 + 60 – 145 = 15 dB re 1 V = 5.6 V
 Amplification at Hydrophone

Response Signal Estimation:

• Transponder Response = 188 dB re µPa @ 1m

• Attenuation losses at 1 km= 60 dB

• Hydrophone Sensitivity
= -195 dB V re 1 µPa @ 1m + 40 dB (pre-amp)
= -155 dB V re 1 µPa @ 1m

Voltage after hydrophone

• V = 188 – 60 – 155 = -27 dB V

Gain required for 1V signal
• Gain = +27 dB V

 Electronics: Transducer

• SBC digital output is set high

SBC/ TT8
(Digital output)

• The XR2206 function generator Sine Generator

chip creates a 20.49 kHz signal XR2206
(20.49 kHz)
Max 1V

• Amplifier transmits high current

Audio amplifier
signal Sony XM2200

• Transformer used to change into Transformer

a high voltage signal
Transducer
 Transducer PCB

From SBC D/O

To Amplifer

Amplitude Control
XR2206
Power

Input/Output Level Shifting Frequency Control

 Frequency Modulation
• SBC maximum sampling rate = 45 kHz
• Modulation to avoid aliasing (Fsampling ≥ 2F)
 Electronics: Hydrophones

• Input signals from hydrophone Hydrophones

amplified
Programmable
• Band Pass filter used to limit Amplifier
the signal to 29.76 kHz (Gain 60 dB)

• XR2206 function generator

signal at (29.76 + δ) kHz Band Pass AD630 Modulator
Filter
(29.76 kHz) Function Generator
• Modulation XR2206
(29.76 + δ kHz)
• 2-pole Butterworth low pass
filter ADC on SBC
Low Pass Filter
• SBC samples signal (δ kHz)
 Hydrophone PCB

AD630 Modulator

Hydrophone Programmable Amplifier

Output
to SBC

Power

Modulating
signal from
XR2206
Bandpass Filter 2 pole Low-pass Filter

Signal Processing: Autocorrelation

Time difference in the response

signal reaching the hydrophones
 Software: Triangulation

t1-tt = (1/c)(2R – r1cos (Θ1- Φ))

t2-tt = (1/c)(2R – r2cos (Θ2- Φ))

t3-tt = (1/c)(2R – r3cos (Θ3- Φ))

t1,t2,t3: total travel time to hydrophone

tt: transponder response time

Navigation

Compass – Block Diagram

 Compass – Field Test

Compass Data
300

250

200

150

Bearing (degree)

100

50

-50

-100

-150

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5

Time (ms) 4

x 10
 GPS
• Determine vessel location
• Used in combination with acoustic
positioning systems
• Map vessel’s traveling history
 GPS - Specifications

• Garmin HVS GPS Unit

(6-40 V DC)
• 9 V battery
• 2 serial ports
GPS – Block Diagram
GPS – Field Test
Budget

 Item Total Cost

SBC $ 1,044.00
SBC LCD screen $ 447.00
LCD Cable $ 65.00
SBC Development Kit &
Accessories $ 728.00
SBC Keyboard and Accessories $ 243.00
80GB HD for SBC $ 70.00
CD Drive for SBC $ 30.00
PIC Servo SC Board & Accessories $ 623.55
630JN Modulating Chips $ 59.00
Antenna & Cable $ 265.00
Power systems Hardware &
Materials $ 220.95
Express PCB $ 59.00
Cables $ 102.24
80/20 Extrusion $ 300.00

TOTAL $ 4,256.74

Total Cost for Materials Purchased Spring 2006 = $4256.74

Lab consumables provided by OETL < $100.00
MATERIALS COST

Acoustics Materials $5,951.00

SBC and Related Materials $2,627

Navigation Materials $874.00

Wireless Materials $670.00

Power Systems $458.00

Assorted Electrical Components and Cables $161.00

Kayak and Outrigger Accessories $983.00

Motor and Accessories $1,224.00

TOTAL COST $12,948.00

 Current State of Project

• 22 of 25 milestones completed

• Functional C++ programs created for

acoustics and wireless
• Compass interfaced with SBC
• GPS interfaced with SBC
• Motor control using PICservo and SBC

• SBC fires transducer, accepts hydrophone

signals
 Future Work

• Assembled vessel has motor systems,

power, SBC, wireless
• Achieve wireless control of steering motor

• Read modulated hydrophone inputs to

SBC
• Next term: Install acoustic system,
compass, GPS
• Feedback control

• Field testing!
Questions?

Comments?