Re: Unmanned sub crosses ocean

From: Hans-Georg Michna (hans-georgNoEmailPlease_at_michna.com)
Date: 11/22/04 

Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 23:24:20 +0100

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 15:45:03 -0500, Alan Browne
<alan.browne@FreeLunchVideotron.ca> wrote:

>A sailboat requires control of sails (via winches), rudder, etc. An energy
>outlay similar to that required by the device described for the ride it gets for
>free from gravity v. buoyancy. (It's just moving some fluid a few cm every hour
>or so, the rest is indeed 'free').

Alan,

the whole story prompted me to try to invent a GPS-navigating
robotic sailboat. The rough theory is finished. I'm thinking of
a mostly submerged vessel with a ballasted keel and only one
sail consisting of an airfoil, looking a bit like an upwards
protruding paddle, that can be moved in two axes, rotation and
forward-backward inclination. No rudder. Control is similar to a
windsurfing board.

The aim is for simplicity and ruggedness. Such a vessel could
transport some load over very long distances at a leisurely pace
and actually quite quickly in strong winds. It could also serve
as a fixed buoy, sailing a figure of 8 all the time to
essentially keep its GPS-defined position.

If the robotic vessel is too sluggish to tack, it would be
programmed to always jibe instead. No big deal, as it could then
sail mile-long tacks on the open ocean.

Arriving at its destination, it would again sail a figure-of-8
pattern until collected.

It could be designed to be stable in relation to the wind
direction to minimize energy consumption, i.e. it would adjust
its direction, then freeze and sail roughly straight for a long
distance without using any electricity at all, while accepting
some deviation from the programmed track. The next adjustment or
tack would then compensate for the accumulated track error. This
way the vessel could move on very little energy, possibly
economically enough to be recharged from solar panels during the
day. But this is probably not required, as controlling the sail
wouldn't use much energy anyway.

Apart from the buoy task the only thing I could think of that it
could be used for is smuggling. (:-) As the thing isn't all that
difficult to conceive, I'm sure somebody will actually build it
soon.

Hans-Georg 

-- 
No mail, please.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Unmanned sub crosses ocean
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