The T100: A Game-Changing Underwater Thruster

by BlueRobotics
An efficient, rugged, affordable underwater thruster to propel the future of marine
robotics and ocean exploration. Read more
Redondo Beach, CA Robots Share this project
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This project was successfully funded on September 11.
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BlueRobotics
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We owe a huge thank you to all of our backers!
If you are interested in buying the T100 Thruster, T200 Thruster, ESCs, T-shirt, or
stickers after the campaign please visit our website at:
www.bluerobotics.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The ocean covers over 70% of our planet and is largely unexplored. Our goal is to
create low-cost, high-quality components to improve the accessibility of marine
robotics and to help explore the world's oceans.
That starts with the T100 thruster.
The T100 is a patent-pending underwater thruster designed specifically for marine
robotics. It's high performing with over 5 pounds of thrust and durable enough for use
in the open ocean at great depths. A variety of mounting options, simple control, and a
low price tag make it the perfect thruster to use on your marine robot.

The T100 Thruster.

Why its needed:
Marine robotic vehicles come in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and designs. They can be
powered by batteries, solar power, through a tether, or even by waves. They can be
small or large and can be equipped with tools for any mission. Nevertheless, nearly all
of them have one thing in common: they have motors and propellers, the combination
of which is commonly known as a thruster.
Our interest in underwater thrusters began as part of a side project. We wanted to
attach solar panels, a GPS unit, a microcontroller, and thrusters to a surfboard and
send it from Los Angeles to Hawaii - completely autonomously.
We were able to find all the components we needed, no problem, except for the
thrusters. We could only find two options. The cheap option was to use regular
brushless motors without protecting them. Unfortunately, they would corrode and
break long before the surfboard made it to Hawaii. The expensive option was to use
commercial-grade thrusters designed for remotely operated underwater vehicles
(ROVs), but these ranged in price from $500 to $3,000 which was way out of our
hobbyist budget.
We realized that we, and thousands of marine robotics enthusiasts around the world,
needed something better. That's why we designed the T100 thruster.

The T100 thruster with measuring tape, banana, and quarter for scale.
Who is the T100 for:
We designed the T100 for:
Makers and Hobbyists who are interested in marine robotics but can't find capable,
affordable hardware.
Students and Schools who can use the T100 for educational projects or to compete in
competitions such as the AUVSI RoboSub and RoboBoat competitions.
Professional Users who want a high-quality thruster that is more capable than many of
the high-end (expensive) alternatives.
Why we need ur help:
We're here on Kickstarter because we need your help to take the T100 thruster from
prototype to production. We've gotten pretty far on our own, but now we need your
financial backing to go the rest of the way. We'll use the Kickstarter funds to buy parts
in bulk quantities, set up our assembly process, and ship the thrusters to you as quickly
as possible.
Your support will go a long way to help us get our company off the ground (and into
the water!). We think the most exciting thing about building this product is seeing all of
the awesome things that you guys find to do with it. Even after the Kickstarter, we will
work hard to make sure that you can get the components you need for marine
robotics!
How it works:

The T100 is basically a brushless electric motor, just like youd find on an RC airplane or
a quadcopter drone. The big difference is that this motor is purpose-built for use in the
ocean and was designed specifically for use on remotely operated underwater vehicles,
autonomous underwater vehicles, and robotic surface vehicles. Of course you could
also use it to propel your stand-up-paddleboard or cruise around while scuba diving!
The T100 is made of high-strength, UV resistant polycarbonate injection molded plastic.
The core of the motor is sealed and protected with an epoxy coating and it uses highperformance plastic bearings in place of steel bearings that rust in saltwater.
Everything that isnt plastic is either aluminum or high-quality stainless steel that
doesnt corrode.

Exploded view of the T100.

A specially designed propeller and nozzle provides efficient, powerful thrust while
active water-cooling keeps the motor cool. Unlike other thrusters, our design doesnt
have any air- or oil-filled cavities - water flows freely through all parts of the motor
while it's running. That means it can go deep in the ocean and handle extreme
pressures.

Wiring diagram for the T100 thruster.

The thruster is easy to use: just connect the three motor wires to any brushless
electronic speed controller (ESC) and you can control it with an RC radio or a
microcontroller. It's usable with Arduino, ArduPilot, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, and
many other embedded platforms.
Specifications:
Key Features
Efficient brushless electric motor
Compact design that fits in any project
Strong and UV resistant polycarbonate plastic
No enclosed pressure cavities to handle extreme pressures
High-performance plastic bearings that don't corrode
Comes with clockwise and counter-clockwise propellers to counter torque
Versatile mounting options for use on almost anything
Rugged cable with polyurethane pressure-extruded jacket

Counter-rotating propellers, mounting holes, and high-quality cable.

Performance
Thrust (forward): 2.36 kgf (5.2 lbf)
Thrust (reverse): 1.82 kgf (4.0 lbf)
Minimum Thrust: 0.01 kgf (0.03 lbf)
Electrical
Operating Voltage: 12 V
Max Power: 130 W
Max Current: 11.5 A
Physical
Length: 101 mm (4.0 in)
Nozzle Diameter: 97 mm (3.8 in)
Propeller Diameter: 76 mm (3.0 in)
Mounting Holes: 4 x M3 screws
Electrical Cable Length: 915 mm (36 in)
Weight in Air: 295 g (0.65 lb)
Weight in Water: 120 g (0.26 lb)
Dimensional cad drawing
Performance Plots

Performance data plots of the T100 thruster. Note that all tests were performed at a
constant 12 Volts in our static test tank.
Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) Specifications
Voltage: 6-15 V
Current: 20 A
BEC: 0.5 A @ 5 V
Power Connectors: 3.5 mm male bullet connector
Motor Connectors: 3.5 mm female bullet connector
Signal: Pulse-width (PWM); (1100 s: max reverse, 1500 s: stopped, 1900 s: max
forward)
The ESC firmware (SimonK's tgy) is reprogrammable and can be configured for use with
I2C command messages
1. Mounting brackets:
We've reached over 100% of our funding goal. Now we have some stretch goals that
make the T100 even more awesome. The first is a versatile mounting bracket that will
come free with all thruster rewards if we hit $40,000.
You do not need the mounting bracket to mount the thruster, but with the bracket
there are more mounting options. It allows you mount the thruster to almost anything
and in particular to flat surfaces like the bottom of a boat. Check it out in Update #3.

Mount bracket line drawing.

2.Integrated ESC:
Awesome job everyone, Stretch Goal #1 has been achieved! The second stretch goal is
a big deal: it's an integrated electronic speed controller that is water-proof, watercooled, compact, and has PWM and digital I2C input signals. By integrating the ESC with
the thruster, it saves space in your vehicle's hull, reduces heat, and really simplifies
wiring of the vehicle.

We won't go into details here because this page is already too long. Check out more
details in Update #4.

T100 Thruster with integrated BlueESC.

3.T200 thrusters:
Stretch Goal #3 has been unlocked! Please check the pledge table for the proper
pledge amount to upgrade or add $40 each to upgrade from T100 to T200 as well as
$25 for basic ESCs instead of $20.
Stretch Goal #3 is the T200 Thruster, a more powerful thruster that is the same size as
the T100 and uses many of the same components. The T200 is better for larger
applications like kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and other human-carrying vehicles.

The T200 Thruster. It will reuse many of the components from the T100 but has a new
propeller and stator.
The T200 will have around 4.5 kgf (10 lb) of thrust and use 260-300 W of power.
Read more about it in Update #8 and Update #10!
Application:
We've built a few robotic vehicles with the T100 just to show you how well it works. The
first is the solar-powered surfboard that started this whole project in the first place.
SolarSurfer

The SolarSurfer will autonomously travel from LA to Hawaii. It uses two T100 thrusters.
The SolarSurfer is a robotic surfboard propelled by two T100s. It will be launched from
the coast of California on a 2,500 mile journey to Hawaii. It will complete the threemonth trip completely autonomously. You will be able to track it live on our website.
OpenROV
The OpenROV.
The OpenROV is an awesome project that originally has its roots in Kickstarter as well.
They've since grown into a thriving community of marine robotics enthusiasts.

OpenROV with T100 thrusters installed.

We're offering an OpenROV Compatible Kit that allows you to replace the OpenROV's
original brushless motors with the T100 thruster for much more thrust, efficiency, and
better resistance to saltwater. The upgrade kit has two stock T100s plus one that has
been modified for use as the vertical thruster on the OpenROV. It also includes some
hardware you'll need to make the upgrade as smoothly as possible.
OpenROV Website: openrov.com
BlueROV
We've also made our own ROV that uses six thrusters to provide six-degree-of-freedom
control. That might seem excessive since most ROVs only have 3-4 thrusters, but with
six degrees-of-freedom you can point the ROV in any orientation to film anything, grab
anything with a simple robot arm, and have a lot of fun!
The BlueROV. It has six thruster for precise and powerful control.
At the surface, it's controlled through a laptop with an XBox controller.
All the code is open source and under development if you'd like to check it out! We're
offering a few copies of this vehicle to any adventurous hackers out there who want an
ROV that's ready to develop code on! Hardware/software experience required.

Configuration and dimensions of the BlueROV.

Source Code: github.com/bluerobotics
There's Tons of Possibilities!

Not just for robots!

Where we are right know:

We're very far along in the development process at this point. Initially, we built about
four drastically different prototypes before settling into our current design. Since then
we've made about four revisions to fine tune and improve the performance.

Some of our early prototypes. We've come a long way.

In April 2014 we won the Proto Labs "Cool Idea! Award", providing all of the tooling for
our injection molded plastic parts. The injection molding tooling has been completed
and we have prototype parts. Proto Labs has been awesome and incredibly supportive
of us and the T100 thruster.

The T100 Thruster won the Proto Labs Cool Idea! Award in April.
Several of the parts are sourced from China and we have an excellent supplier there
who has provided us with production prototypes.
At this point, we need your help to raise enough funding to buy all the components in
bulk quantities, to set up our assembly line, and get the first batch of thrusters out the
door. Because we already have our tooling made and we've made production
prototypes with all of the real parts, we expect things to move very quickly.
We've made an aggressive schedule but we think it's very realistic given our current
status. We'll do everything we can to get your thrusters to you as soon as possible!
Schedule:

Risks and challenges

Like any product that's still under development, there's a risk that we will run into
unanticipated problems and hiccups that could delay delivery. We're doing everything
we can to make sure that doesn't happen. Here's some potential risk areas and what
we're doing to minimize the risk:
- Supply Chain
We've built 10 production prototypes that use the exact same parts that will be used
for production, including custom parts sourced from China. We're pretty confident in
those suppliers based on past experience.
- Stator Winding Labor
Winding the copper coils on the stator is the most laborious part of assembling the
thruster. We have mass production quotes from several manufacturers and we're
confident they will get it done right, but the scheduling details won't be completely
under our control.
- Quantity
It's really hard to know how many thrusters we'll actually sell until the end of the
Kickstarter. We made our budget and schedule around a number that we think is
reasonable. If we sell dramatically more, there's always a chance that some of the
rewards will not be delivered until later than scheduled. We'll do everything we can to
avoid that!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We're confident in our product, our supply chain, and our ability to get your thrusters
to you on time. GIVE US YOUR SUPPORT AND WE WILL PROVE IT!