kiteboatproject

Kitefoiler Test with J-foils – Jun 15

6/15/11

We tested the Kitefoiler using the original Trifoiler J-foils with the Kitefoiler extensions. We used the Tom Speer-designed T-foil rudder.

The wind was light. We used the electric winch handle to successfully winch the kite back to the boat.

Dual bar setup. Launch bar and flying bar.

Don tried out our new Zeal goggles that were equipped with GPS (https://www.zealoptics.com/transcend/). He and Jamie purchased the goggles to play with the sensor inside and to see if they could modify the display. The goggles are designed to display speed information inside the eye view space. Don found that the display was not in quite the right place. Modification will begin when Jamie is back from vacation.

Kai View […more]

Comparing Three Wind Sensors

5/6/11

We have been concerned about the accuracy of the wind sensor that we have been using on the Kitefoiler, an Airmar PB200 ultrasonic anemometer. Today we took this sensor to Crown Beach, along with our old standby, a Maretron WS100 (also ultrasonic), and a handheld mechanical anemometer. In summary, the new Airmar sensor was found to report wind speeds that were 23% higher than the other two sensors, which tended to be in good agreement with each other.

We will do further testing to determine if the wind direction relative to the sensor makes a difference, if the sensor is dirty, and if it is broken or operating outside of its specified accuracy range. The graph shows the measured correspondence […more]

Logger as WiFi Access Point

5/4/11

The box that we use for logging boat tests contains a very small linux PC that connects to sensors, records data, and manages data displays. Connecting to it remotely from our phones and laptops to verify that it is operating correctly, to control its operation, and to have a rich real time display of all recorded data is an advantage. To this end, it now functions as a wireless access point, which was not possible on the original hardware using readily-available linux builds. Now that this is working, we can connect via any wireless device and be directed to a web page hosted on the logger.

GoPro Remote Control Update

5/2/11

In the background we have been incrementally working on making our GoPro cameras remote-controllable via the ZigBee wireless protocol. The objective is to make a minimally-invasive modification to the camera that allows us to detect which cameras are present, turn those cameras on and off, and to initiate synchronized recording by multiple cameras. We have now accomplished some subset of these goals using each of three different interfaces to the camera: external “hero-bus” connector, internal serial port, and direct wiring to buttons and LEDs.
However, each remote interface approach solves only part of the overall problem or introduces new complexity, so testing continues. We are now fabricating a PCB to implement any combination of the approaches in a camera […more]

Kiteboat Logger Power Control

5/2/11

We can now start and stop the kiteboat logger and verify that it is powered on without opening its protective waterproof case or connecting from a remote device. This has involved running the power switch and LED from the internal PC to a waterproof switch on the outside of the case, a job which was made trickier by the miniaturization of the PC. This operation also opens the way to making an external supervisory circuit that can control the PC power and monitor the battery state on longer excursions.

Other recent improvements to the logger include auto-detection of removable media, software to assist with calibration of the wind sensor while we are on the water, and an independent charging port. […more]

KAIView Map Update

5/2/11

KAIView 0.2.6 contains several improvements from the last few weeks, particularly in the mapping component and its integration with the other data displays. The overall goal has been to make the mapping window more useful as a primary interface to the data, instead of just a supplement to the graph display. By default the map window is now larger, the data that it already displayed is easier to read, and a legend shows the geographic scale and the meaning of the color-coded data.

In addition to these visual changes, there is now better correspondence between selections made in the graph window and those made in the map. Right-clicking and dragging in either view will create a selection that is shown […more]