{"id":245765,"date":"2017-08-29T15:30:38","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T18:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/?p=245765\/"},"modified":"2017-08-29T15:49:06","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T18:49:06","slug":"autonomous-boat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/autonomous-boat\/","title":{"rendered":"Autonomous boat"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Holos Brasil<\/span><\/a>Powered by nothing more than solar energy harnessed by photovoltaic panels mounted on its canopy, a small electric boat developed by Holos Brasil (a company based in Rio de Janeiro) and controlled by a single person on land with a portable computer is capable of autonomous, unpiloted navigation. Besides batteries for storing electricity, the boat carries instruments for a variety of missions, including meteorological, oceanographic and fluvial data collection (depth, mapping of floor topography, etc.), and for studying aquatic life. Furthermore, with its ability to monitor underwater pipelines and other equipment, the solar- powered boat has applications in the oil industry. Measuring 3.2 meters in length, 1.6 meters wide and weighing 82 kilograms, the catamaran-type boat (having two parallel hulls connected by two beams bearing the solar panels) cruises at three knots (5.5 km\/h). Still a prototype at the testing phase, it is the first vessel with these features ever built in Brazil.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo Cardoso de Souza, a naval engineer and partner at Holos, explains that the idea behind the vessel\u2019s development came about when he participated in 2009 in Solar Challenge Brazil, a competition between single-pilot boats powered by photovoltaic energy that was organized by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and sponsored by Enel Brasil (a natural gas and electric power generation and distribution company), the city of B\u00fazios in Rio de Janeiro, and the Secretariat of Sports of the State of Rio de Janeiro. \u201cAt the first of these events Holos competed with two vessels through a partnership with researchers from Coppe [Alberto Luiz Coimbra Institute for Graduate Studies and Engineering Research at UFRJ]\u201d explains Souza, who, along with Frederico Garcia Magalh\u00e3es, founded Holos in 1998. \u201cBoth vessels won in their respective categories,\u201d he said. Besides developing this prototype, the company manufactures sailboats, oceanographic buoys, racing boat equipment and carbon fiber wheelchairs.<\/p>\n

At the same competition, a team from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) took first place in the catamaran category. Later, in 2010, the team joined Holos in Holland to meet a similar test: the Frisian Solar Challenge. From then on, collaboration between the two teams got stronger and, at the invitation of the Santa Catarina team, Holos participated in the construction of a solar-powered boat for transporting schoolchildren in the community of Santa Rosa, situated on On\u00e7as Island in Barbacena municipality, in the state of Par\u00e1. The 22-passenger piloted vessel was completed in 2014 and is now in operation, transporting students between the Island where they live and downtown Barbacena.<\/p>\n

First prototype<\/strong>
\nAs Souza tells it, it was during this effort that he and Magalh\u00e3es broke into the world of electric powered boats. \u201cWe then came up with the idea of developing a boat that would be autonomous not only in terms of navigation, but also the energy that powers it,\u201d he explains. It would be a vessel that could, by means of solar panels, store energy by day to travel at night.\u201d The project was submitted in 2103 to the Rio de Janeiro Research Foundation (FAPERJ), which approved R$300,000 in funding.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Holos Brasil<\/span><\/a> With solar panels, the boat travels with uninterrupted autonomy, its speed falling from 5.5 to 1.8 km\/h under overcast skiesHolos Brasil<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The first prototype was completed in 2016 and has already undergone a bathymetry (depth measurement) test requested by Coppe at Fund\u00e3o Island, where the UFRJ main campus is situated. The boat\u2019s four photovoltaic panels\u2014each measuring 50 cm by one meter and housed between its two hulls\u2014supply a total of 400 watts of energy. The electric power that is generated is stored in six lithium batteries, which ensure uninterrupted cruising, 24 hours a day. \u201cWith the panels, the vessel\u2019s autonomy is constant, allowing it to cruise without having to stop,\u201d explains Souza. \u201cEven on overcast days, the boat continues cruising. In this case, with less power available, velocity would be reduced, perhaps by only one knot (1.8 km\/h). With batteries alone and no panels, the boat remains autonomous for 10 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

The boat is equipped with computers and programs for autonomous navigation, as well as a compass, accelerometers, and gyroscopes. \u201cThese systems and this equipment ensure that the boat will follow a pre-programed route, unaffected by tides, winds, and other oceanic conditions,\u201d says Souza. In this first prototype, communications between the vessel and base of operations are carried out via UHF radio, which limits the operating radius to about 10 km. \u201cWe have a project underway for the vessel to communicate via satellite,\u201d adds Souza.<\/p>\n

The success of the prototype, the C-400, prompted Souza and Magalh\u00e3es to found a new company, Unmanned Surface Solar Vehicle (USSV) to sell autonomous boats. Two models are in the final stage of development: a small one measuring 2.5 m in length capable of up to 20 hours of autonomous navigation, and an oceanic vessel, 4.5 m and autonomous for up to 90 hours. The average speed of both boats will be 5.5 k\/h. \u201cThe C-400 has aroused the interest of Petrobras and the Brazilian Navy,\u201d says Souza. Holas plans to sell each of its smaller boats for R$130,000. The price for the oceanic model has not yet been determined.<\/p>\n

Marcos Gallo, an engineer and professor at the Dynamics Laboratory of Cohesive Sediments (LDSC) of Coppe\u2019s coastal and oceanographic engineering division, who monitored the prototype tests, sees the importance of developing autonomous boats. \u201cThey facilitate access to areas that other types of vessels find restricted owing to their size and draft [the portion of the vessel\u2019s structure that remains submerged], and offer greater mobility and practicality when conducting measurements,\u201d explains Gallo.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Souza recognizes the boat\u2019s disadvantages, such as its limited power. \u201cThis restricts the amount of equipment that can be placed on board, because the energy generated by the photovoltaic panels has to be shared between them and the vessel itself,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe large area taken up by the solar panels presents another disadvantage,\u201d adds Souza.<\/p>\n

Autonomous solar vessels are still rare. Souza mentions the British firm ASV, manufacturer of a boat that\u2014besides being solar powered\u2014uses a diesel engine. The Seacharger, the first autonomous solar-powered boat tested in 2016, was developed by Damon McMillan, a U.S. company. It arrived in Hawaii after a 4,469-kilometer voyage from California that lasted 41 days. The Wave Glider, another autonomous boat that was developed by the U.S. company Liquid Robotics, has also cruised great distances, travelling from San Francisco to Australia in 2015. The Wave Glider\u2019s solar panels power the on-board equipment while the boat is propelled by sea-wave energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prototype of a solar-powered vessel carries out measurements","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[169],"tags":[207,227,228,200,243,262],"coauthors":[112],"class_list":["post-245765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-bioenergy","tag-energy","tag-engineering","tag-environment","tag-innovation","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245765"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=245765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}