There is a severe limitation of operational communication between the base station and the boat. Has anyone tried a different COM setup with different hardware that allows the boat to be operated up to 10 miles from shoreline?
Hi @bajaMike -
10 miles is quite a long way! Since there’s not likely to be cell coverage out that far, the only option would be satellite. It’s possible to control the system with short messages, or you could control it normally via ZeroTier with a Starlink Mini? We’re going to be testing this before the end of the year!
But what if you give the boat a command to survey an area out about 6-8 miles. Would it track on it’s own, and not needing any input from the shore controller? Since I would have line-of-sight, why can’t radio frequency controllers be used?
Starlink Mini with ZeroTier? Sounds interesting. Anyone done that yet?
So IF I were to use the Starlink mobile (boat) would I really need the ZeroTier? What handheld controller would I use? I am not too fond of dragging out a laptop on the boat and would rather use a dedicated hand-held controller like the other ROV suppliers now use. Is the cost for these too much?
Hi Mike -
The BlueBoat does not need to be within communications range to continue carrying on an Auto mission. Assuming you have enough battery life, and nothing prevents the vehicle from navigating back to waypoints within communications range, you’ll get the vehicle back! No control in put is necessary on an autonomous boat!
Line of sight radio is limited by the legal power limits for 2.4Ghz, this tops out at about 1km.
I’ve just finished an initial test of the Starlink Mini on the BlueBoat (look for an upcoming forum post!) - the newest antenna solution from Starlink. ZeroTier is the VPN-like platform that allows you to control the boat over any internet connection, whether it is cellular or satellite in nature. It makes you computer, running the ZeroTier client, think it is plugged into the same network switch! It is not a piece of hardware, it’s something you use to reach BlueOS remotely.
I’m not sure what you mean by a “dedicated hand-held controller” - but the BlueBoat can only be manually controlled by an USB gamepad (xbox, ps4/ps5 etc.) If you’re within short range, you can also connect and use a traditional RC receiver and controller, but this isn’t relevant to ZeroTier control.
Good explanation Tony! Thank you. I looked over the Starlink Mini but a little confused about service limits of 50 GB/mo. Are you sure the Mini is the best one or would we need the mobile HP flat dish? The plans are quite different in price and service limits.
Hi Tony,
Really really keen on seeing your post about the BB starlink mini 
Cheers
Hi @bajaMike -
The Mini is best suited for use on the BlueBoat. It runs off of DC voltage (12-48) so can be linked directly to the batteries. It creates a WiFi network that the Raspberry Pi can easily connect to. The roaming package is indeed 50GB/$50 month, but it is possible to upgrade this to other plans, including full worldwide, open-ocean coverage. It is also significantly smaller and uses dramatically less power, roughly 30 watts vs. 150 watts ++!
@CA_BlueBoat coming very soon!
Awesome Tony! I was wondering if the Survey Mission planning software could do a timed stop between waypoints? In my project, I want to Auto send the boat out about 5-6 miles, stop for an hour or so, lower a hydrophone and listen (or use a fixed-mounted hydrophone), then move to next waypoint and do the same. Total of 6-8 hours trip on the water. Is this possible to program? Battery life to do this mission?
Hi @Mike -
This is indeed possible - you can plan the mission in QGround Control, and create a loiter action that will let the vehicle hold position for a duration at a position. You can also have it do nothing and free-drift for a period. For a mission like that I would install at least 4 batteries to have ample extra capacity.
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