Thesis: B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 1976 / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / B.S. / B.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering

The primary objective of this research is the development a wind and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicle (WASP) for oceanographic measurements. This thesis presents the general design scheme, detailed aerodynamic and hydrodynamic aspects, sailing performance theory, and dynamic performance validation measurements obtained from a series of experiments. The WASP consists of a 4.2 meter long sailboat hull, a low-Reynolds number composite wing, a 2000 Watt-hour battery reservoir, a system of control actuators, a control system running on an embedded microprocessor, a suite of oceanographic sensors, and power regeneration from solar energy. The vehicle has a maximum speed of five knots and weighs approximately 350 kilograms. Results from four oceanographic missions that were conducted in the Port Everglades Intracoastal Waterway in Dania Beach [sic] Florida are presented. Water temperature, salinity and oxidation-reduction measurements recorded during these missions are also discussed. The combination of a mono-hull and solid wing in an autonomous system is a viable design for a long-range ocean observation platform. The results of four near-shore ocean observation missions illustrate the initial capabilities of the design. Future work aimed to further reduce both the mass of the wing design and the power requirements of the system will increase performance in all operating conditions and should be considered. Furthermore, the progression of the legal framework related to ocean vehicles must be pursued with respect to unmanned autonomous systems. / by Patrick Forde Rynne. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2008. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2008. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:56:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EinsteinGS_DISSERT.pdf: 2235729 bytes, checksum: c7975deebdcccbba6d5c03bbecc7084d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-01-23 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / We propose in this work a software architecture for robotic boats intended to act in diverse aquatic environments, fully autonomously, performing telemetry to a base station and getting this mission to be accomplished. This proposal aims to apply within the project N-Boat Lab NatalNet DCA, which aims to empower a sailboat navigating autonomously. The constituent components of this architecture are the memory modules, strategy, communication, sensing, actuation, energy, security and surveillance, making these systems the boat and base station. To validate the simulator was developed in C language and implemented using the graphics API OpenGL resources, whose main results were obtained in the implementation of memory, performance and strategy modules, more specifically data sharing, control of sails and rudder and planning short routes based on an algorithm for navigation, respectively. The experimental results, shown in this study indicate the feasibility of the actual use of the software architecture developed and their application in the area of autonomous mobile robotics / Propomos neste trabalho uma arquitetura de software para barcos rob?ticos destinados a atuarem em ambientes aqu?ticos diversos, de forma totalmente aut?noma, realizando telemetria com uma esta??o-base e desta recebendo miss?es a serem realizadas. Tal proposta visa aplicar-se dentro do projeto N-Boat do laborat?rio Natalnet-DCA, que tem como objetivo principal capacitar um veleiro a navegar autonomamente. Os componentes constituintes dessa arquitetura s?o os m?dulos de mem?ria, estrat?gia, comunica??o, sensoriamento, atua??o, energia, seguran?a e supervis?o, formando estes os sistemas do barco e da esta??o-base. Para sua valida??o foi desenvolvido um simulador implementado na linguagem C e utilizando recursos da API gr?fica OpenGL, cujos principais resultados foram obtidos na implementa??o dos m?dulos de mem?ria, de atua??o e de estrat?gia, mais especificamente no compartilhamento de dados, no controle das velas e do leme e no planejamento de rotas curtas baseado em um algoritmo de navega??o, respectivamente. Os resultados dos experimentos realizados, mostrados no presente trabalho, indicam a viabilidade da utiliza??o real da arquitetura de software desenvolvida e sua aplica??o na ?rea da rob?tica m?vel aut?noma