Like this...But smaller!!

The design for the next generation of MUN SailBOT racing machine is underway.  Though the team is spread across the country, we are laying the groundwork for the new vessel. The vessel will be a trimaran with a articulating wing sail designed to go really, really fast! We will be working with Rhino for the 3-D  modeling, CAD for the general arrangement and GHS or Maxsurf for the hydrostatics.  Over the next few months we will spiral in on a final design, and -with our fingers crossed - pull the carbon fiber hull next semester. More design posts to come!

On processors

Our current electronics setup is run using a Real Time Operating System from UVic running on an ATMEGA 1280. Drivers have been written - the system works - but is rather heavily taxed by the number of things which it must do. We would like to do path planning, more sensor processing and more intelligent decision making. To that end we've been discussing the use of a more powerful processor to add the higher level of control which is the next step in our development. We chose the well maintained Arduino platform for it's ease of use, its flexibility, the soundness of hardware and most importantly the community which surrounds it. The Raspberry Pi is now a hit in the hobbyist community which sports a powerful ARM processor, a bunch of IO, several projects which  integrate it with our current processor and a low cost. So as mentioned in the previous post we've purchased a couple to try them out.


Check back for updates.

[-Jordan]

The New CPU

The new cpu of the new boat has been ordered!!!! The Raspberry Pi shown above is a Linux based micro-controller that is more computer than micro-controller. This cpu contains an ARM-1176JZFS processor with floating point, running at 700Mhz, and a Videocore 4 GPU. The GPU is capable of BluRay quality playback, using H.264 at 40MBits/s. It has a fast 3D core accessed using the supplied OpenGL ES2.0 and OpenVG libraries....TRANSLATION FOR NON-COMPUTER PEOPLE.... WE BOUGHT A WEAPON OF A COMPUTER BRAIN FOR UNDER $40!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that's right under $40!

Click here for more information.

Special Thanks to ...

We thank Notus Electronics Ltd. for sponsoring us at the Top Sail Level! We are proud to be sponsored by such a leader in Marine Sensor technology. The company has given both in-kind donations and money towards the new boat, which is greatly appreciated by all members of the team.

On blogging

Big news. Sweeping changes have overtaken the site: we have updated the favicon and header. In all seriousness though, I'd like to highlight how pleasant of an experience shifting to Blogger has been. Whereas a site update once included editing code it's now a simple login, swap and save - I could do it from my phone. I highly recommend this format for those who keep blogs or small scale personal websites.

For those who require a little more control, are afraid of storing their info here, relying on a free service or just want to use something a little more open I would suggest the open source Wordpress package, available at http://wordpress.org/download/. Installed and configured in minutes it's a fast way to get a professional quality blog started.

[-Jordan]

New Years

The New Year, the start of a new calendar, is time for making changes with a fresh start. To many it occurs on January 1st, but to those who follow a University Calendar it is clearly marked as taking place on a Wednesday in early September. Keeping with the fall festivities around the university, Sailbot has been working away on their New Year's resolutions, new developments and plans for upcoming semesters. Paperwork is being filed, logos have been updated to more robust vector formats, advertising material is being created and events are being planned. Anybody who has been fond of the team or is looking to join should drop us a line, especially if they are interested in some Sailbot-branded material. Or, if you feel like a chat, stop into the AOSL (EN-1035E), we usually meet at 6 each Wednesday.

On a related note I would suggest that anyone looking for a professional level graphic design package on the cheap should check out the tools GIMP and Inkscape for scalar and vector design respectively. They are quite powerful, well maintained and documented but most importantly they are Open Source projects - worth checking out.

[-Jordan]

Changing of the Guard

We're wrapping up the summer semester here at Memorial.  It's been a great summer and everyone is packing up to go to their Fall Co-op placements. 

In a dramatic turn of events, and several phone calls later, our boat may very well be on a truck tomorrow and on its way back home.  Turns out summer is a popular time for vacations.

We also have some lovely gifts done up for our sponsors from the past year.  Thank you everyone who contributed to make this project possible.  Keep an eye on your mailbox for something from MUN Sailbot.

The next few weeks we will be gearing up for Fall recruitment and fundraising.  If you know of anyone or are interested yourself in being involved keep an eye out as we are planning a few events.

In completely unrelated news, sailing anarchy had this RC boat up a while back.  Looks a bit like Arctica with a few differences.