Home-Built Navigation System Floats Vessel on Water
In the world of DIY smart sailing, Tom's catamaran, the SeaHorse, is making waves with its innovative navigation system. The details of this system were shared by Andrew Sheldon.
At the heart of the SeaHorse's navigation desk is a Raspberry Pi, a waterproof device protected by a silicone gasket to safeguard it from saltwater. This tiny powerhouse runs the open source navigational platform, OpenCPN, which ties together the catamaran's navigation system.
OpenCPN is not alone in this open source navigation ecosystem. Software like AvNav and Signal K offer flexible, extensible solutions suitable for homemade navigation systems using standard and custom sensors, displays, and IoT technologies.
AvNav, another open source navigation software, supports nautical charts, GPS positioning, routes, AIS, and external sensors. It can run on Raspberry Pi, Windows, or Android devices and provides a server architecture accessible via any modern web browser. Integrating seamlessly with OpenPlotter, AvNav is a suitable choice for DIY smart sailing setups.
Signal K, while not navigation software itself, is an open source, modern data format and protocol designed to expand and modernize traditional marine data communication (NMEA). It facilitates integration, extension, and web compatibility for navigation and instrumentation data on boats, forming a backbone for many open source marine projects and software.
OpenCPN itself supports third-party plugins and integration with DIY hardware like Raspberry Pi-based setups, making it a strong candidate for experimentation and customization in smart sailing projects.
The SeaHorse's navigation system is not just limited to OpenCPN. Tom has added a software defined radio to the Raspberry Pi to integrate radio monitoring. He is also experimenting with reprogramming a buoy transmitter to transmit the boat's location, speed, and heading.
Two obsolete phones and a repurposed laptop screen serve as display surfaces for the navigation desk, while weather forecasts, maps, GPS, depth, and speed over ground data are streamed through the boat's WiFi network. Additionally, a data-harvesting, Arduino-driven buoy is available for additional nautical projects.
To prevent overheating, Tom has under-clocked the Raspberry Pi's CPU. This innovative use of open source technology shows the potential for affordable, customizable navigation systems in the world of smart sailing.
| Software/Format | Description | Platform | Features | |-----------------|-------------|----------|----------| | OpenCPN | Open source chart plotting software with plugin support | Windows, Linux, macOS | Nautical charts, plugins, GPS, AIS, customizable | | AvNav | Open source navigation software with server-client model | Raspberry Pi, Windows, Android | Charts, GPS, AIS, sensors, web interface | | Signal K | Open source marine data standard/protocol | All (data format) | Converts NMEA to web-friendly, extendable format, supports IoT |
This open source ecosystem offers a strong foundation for building smart sailing navigation systems.
[1] Signal K: https://signalk.org/ [2] AvNav: https://avnav.org/ [3] OpenCPN: https://opencpn.org/
- The Raspberry Pi, a small but powerful device, encased in waterproof silicone, runs the open source navigational platform OpenCPN at the core of the SeaHorse's navigation system.
- Integrating with OpenCPN, the open source navigation software AvNav is another option for DIY smart sailing setups, offering features like nautical charts, GPS positioning, routes, AIS, and external sensor support.
- Signal K, an open source modern data format and protocol, serves as a backbone for many open source marine projects and software, facilitating integration, extension, and web compatibility for navigation and instrumentation data on boats.
- To further customize and enhance the SeaHorse's navigation system, Tom has added a software defined radio to the Raspberry Pi for radio monitoring and is experimenting with reprogramming a buoy transmitter to broadcast the boat's location, speed, and heading.
