Category: Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers

n3m02 the Autonomous Boat: Depth Surveys

Academic and Scholarly, Autonomous Vehicles, Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Remote Sensing
catamaran version of n3m0 the boat

This report documents the transition of n3m0 the autonomous boat, originally a monohull designed for long-ish range water-quality measuring missions, to n3m02 the autonomous catamaran. The mission was to add a depth sensor to the boat so that it could survey the harbor at Cal Maritime. The harbor silts in pretty quickly and it is an expensive and time-consuming process to dredge, so keeping tabs on the depth over time was the goal. A transom-mount NMEA-1083 speed/depth/temperature transducer was added to the boat, and a raspberry pi was used to log the position of the boat from the autopilot and the depth from the sensor. The data was uploaded in real time to github, which worked quite well! Eventually a second hull was added to allow differential thrust and improve maneuverability when running next to docks and moored vessels. Read on for more information!

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Super Simple Automatic Chicken Coop Door

Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun, Remote Sensing, Uncategorized

Pet chickens like to run around and scratch up their yard during the day, but must be safely locked away at night to prevent predators from eating them. Most chicken-keepers accept the twice-daily chore of letting the hens out in the morning, and locking them up at night. This is a project to automate that task using an inexpensive sensor, an arduino microcontroller, and a linear actuator. As a bonus this project runs from a solar-charged battery!

This project is pretty hacky looking or you could say it has an agricultural feel to it, but it’s been running solid for over a month so I thought I would record it here. Bring on the bailing wire!

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Lawnie the Remote Controlled Lawnmower

Autonomous Vehicles, Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun

Back in 2019 I made a remote controlled lawnmower. It is not a very original design, it follows closely the mower from Make Magazine and many other youtube videos, with some modifications to suit what parts I could get. I got an electric wheelchair and an electric mower second-hand, bought a speed controller and some relays, and made my own RC controller and receiver with arduinos and nRF24L01 radio set. I tried my best to keep the cost low, using as many second-hand parts or things I already had in my shop. This mower has been mowing my lawn ever since, and makes a tedious chore fun! I highly recommend building one if you still push a mower yourself.

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Electronic Windvane

Academic and Scholarly, Autonomous Vehicles, Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun, Remote Sensing, Sailing, Uncategorized

This project documents how to make a windvane to sense the wind direction. It was designed for an autonomous sailboat but could be used in other applications. The structure is mostly 3D printed and uses a gopro mount to attach to the hull. The main sensor is a magnetic encoder that outputs an analog voltage in the 0-5V range. For my application I used a voltage divider to bring that down to 0-2.5V because my autopilot is based on 3.3V logic. I also have an arduino program to output the vane angle as NMEA 0183 serial data; I don’t use this on my boat but it is a standard digital interface that might be helpful for others.

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Duet Wifi Display

Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun

I have an Ultibots D300VS delta printer (sadly no longer in production) that I use a lot.

It has a Duet Wifi control board, which has a great web interface that can do everything you need to do.

Sometimes, however, I wanted to be able to do a task at the printer, and this required using my phone to connect to the printer. There is a nice display available (PanelDue) but it was more money and functions than I need. What to do?

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Internet of Coffee!

Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun, Remote Sensing

Monitoring the morning brew with the internet of things.

Hot Coffee (sped up 40 times)

Do you want to know when your coffee is done brewing but are too lazy to walk over to see for yourself?  Do you need to monitor your coffee pot when you are out of town?  Probably not, but here is one solution to the non-problem.  CLICK HERE to see if the coffee is hot, or keep reading to see how to make your own.

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NMEA 0183 Speedometer

Embedded Computers and Microcontrollers, Fun, Old and Archived, Sailing

I had an email request to find this project from 2010… I updated the code too!

Arduino in Test Mode
Arduino in Test Mode

This project  takes the pulse from a paddlewheel boat speed sensor and makes an NMEA output on the serial port.  It should work with most through-hull speed transducers, and also with windspeed transducers too.  The NMEA stream comes from the arduino serial port, so if you have a USB arduino you can hook it up to a laptop easily.  If you want to hook it up to another NMEA instrument you’ll need something like a MAX232 chip to take the TTL logic from the serial port pins and convert them to RS-232 (or convert to RS-422 to meet the NMEA specification).

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