This boat was built with the Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering (PAVE) club for competition in the Promoting Electric Propulsion 2022 race in one semester. The race consisted of five laps around two buoys separated by around a half-mile, to be completed by an unmanned boat. We set out to develop a legitimate racing boat that could autonomously complete the course. The vehicle was a purchased hydroplane-type racing hull fitted with an electric motor and batteries. Though the PAVE team did not achieve full autonomy, we ultimately built a system that safely controlled a racing boat at 40+ mph from a kilometer away. The aspects of the project I worked on are detailed here.
RF Communication
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Needed communication for control and telemetry
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Needed to communicate over 0.5+ km
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Selected HumPRO transciever module due to range potential
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UART interface with microcontroller
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Module required breakout board for connection to other components
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Breakout board created as custom PCB
Telemetry and Control Computer
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Powered by Raspberry Pi Pico programmed in MicroPython
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Connects Pico to RF and GPS/Compass modules
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Custom MicroPython module written to transmit data using RF module
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Hand soldered on perf board after breadboard prototype
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USB connection to Jetson Nano running computer vision code
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Receives boat commands remotely, relays them to Jetson
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Similar computer at shore sending commands, just without GPS
Communication and Control Software
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MicroPython scripts run on boat and shore computers
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Transfers telemetry and commands between shore and boat
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Telemetry strings have start character so they can be decoded when sent over multiple packets
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Packet consistently sent to ensure connection; throttle killed if not received
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Teensy 3.2 programmed to control steering actuator and digital throttle
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Throttle and steering ran on virtual PID controller for smooth behavior
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Python script runs on Jetson to relay commands from Pico to Teensy
