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AquaROVER, a collaborative project with NASA and Wayne RESA, prioritizes wind propulsion with a rigid sail design and aims to integrate autonomous controls, while enabling rapid manufacturing. Its ultimate aim is to become an autonomous vehicle tailored for environmental data collection for educational purposes in K-12 grades.

What?

  • Designed, analyzed and build a Rigid Sail Boat that employs an Airfoil Wing to generate its lift for propulsion.

  • Critical parts and components of the boat includes the Main Sail, Elevator, Counterweight, Rudder and Keel- along with necessary electronics for power and controls.

  • The Prototype is inspired from the in production autonomous Sailboats by the Company SailDrone

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How?

  • The year-long project required intense research and analysis on Aerodynamics, Hydrodynamics, structural statics, electronic Controls and material properties.

  • Simulations performed on aerodynamic tool called XFLR to learn about the lift and drag associated with the sail and Keel.

  •  Rapid Prototyping every part, testing several designs and mechanisms to troubleshoot and deliver the ultimate project.  

Relevant Skills:

3D designing, prototyping and fabrication, Aerodynamic Principles and software tools for analysis, Electronic Controls,  Collaboration and teamwork. 

Click on Each Components to learn more about it

Main Sail

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  • The Sail acts as a Wing and produces lift which propels AquaROVER in the desired directio

  • The Sail is essentially a 22''x28'' NACA0012 Airfoil Wing.

  • Fabricated from light weight MDF wood using a laser cutter.

  • The Skeletal Structure is then Wrapped with Ultracote Thermal Shrink Wrap for the final shape.

  • Using Aerodynamic Tool, XFLR5, necessary metrics for the wing is simulated.

  • Accounting for the Dimensions and the Airfoil, following is measured-

    • ​ Max Lift of 4.6N (Lift Coeff = 1.1)

    • Drag = 0.007N (Drag Coeff = 0.03) 

Elevator

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  • The main purpose of the Elevator is to provide Camber to the overall shape of the Sail and ultimately rotate the sail to an angle.

  • Instead of rotating the entire Main sail using a big servo, it is done by turning the elevator with a much smaller servo motor. 

  • The Elevator is also NACA0012 Airfoil (7"x17") and is located in the rear of the Mainsail.

  • Fabricated similarly from light weight MDF wood and shrink wrapped with ultracote.

Design Iteration.

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  • The Final design uses the rod instead of a gear box, to reduce excess weight at the distant location of the Elevator.

  • Final Design is also twice as big and is about 20% of the Mainsail. This decision was informed from the first test when the original Elevator failed to turn the Mainsail at desired angles.

Counterweight

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  • The Aluminum Nose Cone at the very front of the sail plays a critical role in stabilizing AquaROVER.

  • Fabricated using a CNC Lathe to achieve an aerodynamic profile while weighing 110g - equal to the Elevator in the back .

  • Without the Counterweight, AquaROVER would be more likely to tip over due to the weight of the elevator

Test in a Controlled Environment shows the importance of the Counterweight in terms of stability

    With Counterweight                            

    Without Counterweight                            

Keel

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  • The Keel is the additional component that helps AquaROVER Propel using wind.

  • The Keel is a waterfoil that cancels out any lateral forces of the Mail Sail while also providing lift under the boat.

  • It is filled with added weight which also aids as an excellent stabilizer against lateral Moments.

  • It is 3D Printed out of PLA material ensuring appropriate weight, smoothness and strength.

Rudder & Jet Pump

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  • The Rudder steers the heading of the boat in the desired direction. 

  • It is 3D printed and controlled using a waterproof servo motor

Jet Pump

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  • The Jet Pump works as a secondary propulsion system in the absence of wind and for emergency retrieval.

  • The pump takes in water through the inlet and expels in through the outlet generating propulsion.

Inlet

Outlet

Electronics and Automation

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  • Two Servo Motors for controlling Elevator and Rudder.

  • A jet pump for secondary propulsion.

  • Wind Vane for Wind Direction Sensing.

  • Anemometer for wind speed sensing.

  • Magnetometer for detecting location and speed of the boat.

  • Arduino Mega as Microcontroller

  • A FlySky RC Controller for Manual Controls

Electronics Housing

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  • All The Electronics and Battery are housed inside a Custom Made Waterproof Electronic Housing. 

  • The Housing is designed using Makercase.com and fabricated out of acrylic with waterproof sealant applied appropriately.

Final Prototype

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  • AquaROVER successfully uses its elevator to set the Main Sail at an angle of attack with respect to the wind - producing Lift to propel in the desired directions.

  • It also employs the rudder for proper heading of the vehicle and a pump system for alternate propulsion in the absence of wind. 

  • A Semi-Autonomous System is integrated within its controls for a simple travel loop in ideal operating conditions.

Acknowledgements

Team members -

Weinuo Lin, Fahim Rabbi, Lorenzo Moriche, Natalie Menon, Samuel Haley 

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