DIY Robotics Enthusiast Sets Sail with Self-Navigating RC Sailboats

Published  March 15, 2023   0
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Sail with Self-Navigating RC Sailboats

DIY! Hobbyist and YouTuber RCTestFlight took his love for RC toys to new heights with his latest project: an autonomous RC sailboat. The project combines 3D design, fiberglass molding,  RC controls, and Programming to create a unique and exciting new gadget.

The first step is to 3D design the boat hull, which is the most important part of the project. When the 3D design is done he prints the very large design into small pieces and glues them together to make the whole positive mold of the boat. Once the glue is dry and the positive mold is ready, he fiberglass the whole 3D design to finalize the inside of the hull. He also designed a mold to make the keel for the boat and he attached it to the boat with glue. Then he finishes off the build with red spray paint. For the sail and the deck, he is using a CNC router to make them. Once the build process is finished he added all the electronic components like battery, servo, and RC controller to finish off the build process.

Once the whole build process is complete he puts the boat to find out that his ballast is not heavy enough and the boat tips sideways. To fix these issues he built a trimaran 3D printed pontoons and attached it to the boat to solve the tipping issue. Finally, later in the video, he explains how changing the direction of the sail changes the direction of attack and how you can change the direction of the boat with this theory.

Building a DIY Autonomous RC Sailboat can be a bit challenging, but this can be interesting for DIY makers, enthusiasts, and hobbyists. During the build process it takes some time to code the whole autonomous functionality but once the hard part is done the final result can be very satisfying. In a previous project of circuit digest, we have built a Simple Arduino RC Boat that can be Controlled Wirelessly using 433 MHz RF Modules. If you don't want to build a complicated project like this you can check this simple project on DIY! RC Boat.

If you are looking for more do-it-yourself (DIY) robotic projects, you may want to check out Circuit Digest. Circuit Digest offers a wide range of project tutorials, articles, and resources on various aspects of robotics and electronics, making it a valuable source of information for enthusiasts and professionals alike.