Abstract
MOOPs (Miniature Ocean Observation Platforms) are small, low cost, lightweight sailing robots intended to form a simple and flexible platform for developing robotic sailing concepts and for entering the Microtransat Challenge. They are only 72 cm long, weigh 4 kg and can be easily transported and deployed. A variety of different configurations have been tested with the intention of testing new wind sensor designs, performing experiments in autonomous power management, rudderless control and discovering wind direction without a wind sensor. Tests have been performed in lakes and at sea. During this process several limitations have been identified which cause difficulty sailing upwind, difficulty sailing downwind in single wing sail models and low hull speeds which make cause problems when fighting strong currents or tides. Future work will focus on more ocean going sailing and methods to reduce overall power consumption.
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Sauzé, C., Neal, M. (2011). MOOP: A Miniature Sailing Robot Platform. In: Schlaefer, A., Blaurock, O. (eds) Robotic Sailing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22836-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22836-0_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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