Omni motor sailing boat

geofrancis · May 30, 2022, 11:42am

I have a total of 4 ultrasonic rangefinders under the boat now, one forward, left, right and down. Now that i can run them as i2c rangefinders and scale them it means i can use them as underwater proximity.

The forward rangefinder is at around a 45 degree angle. My idea is to test it as forward looking proximity to stop it running aground. It was an idea @rmackay9 suggested a while ago but now I can add a lot of rangefinders its an idea worth testing.

I Edited the Mavlink POC rangefinder code to work with 8x VL53l1x 4m rangefinders and then ordered 8 water proof sensors, this should give me 360 4m short range proximity around the boat for around £35

github.com

geofrancis/POC/blob/master/MAVLINK-POC-VL53L1x-8way.ino


#include "mavlink.h"        // Mavlink interface
#include "mavlink_msg_distance_sensor.h"
#include <Wire.h>
#include <VL53L1X.h>
const int MIN = 10;
const int MAX = 1600;
const int idle = 200;
const int Scale = 10;
const int RMIN = 10;
const int RMAX = 350;

#define bRate 115200


//#define XSHUT_pin7 xx  //not required for address change
#define XSHUT_pin8 10
#define XSHUT_pin7 9
#define XSHUT_pin6 8
#define XSHUT_pin5 7

This file has been truncated. show original

Can node arrived, thenplan is to use it to run the solar panel servos, the sail and possibly some rangefinders.

I got around to test fitting the bait boat prop guards I bought off ali express and they fit perfectly after drilling it out for the thicker prop shaft.