Hybrid Boat Energy Manager

(Hybrid Solar Boat Component)

[IMAGE OF PROTOTYPE]

Creator:

Kenneth Carr, Embedded Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Last Updated: 7/8/2021

Technical Field
This project encompasses embedded microcontroller and electrical design. It also will require
some mechanical design for packaging.

Background Information
The inspiration for this project is from a few places. It was a desire to travel down the lake
without large gas bills mixed with discussion with my father around solar energy and other
renewable ways to travel for “free energy” on the water like sailing. This grew into seeing all the
pains for gas motor ownership and repairs that needed to be done from the constant abuse of
always shifting at slower speeds to maintain position. Then watching fishing boats with trolling
motors maneuver the boat traffic with ease because of the responsiveness of the electric motor
with less wear and tear wrapped up this project into a box that I believe I could build and sell.
Doing some research, I found all electric and hybrid boats of any size were newer and expensive
so the in between system as a retrofit for a boat such as mine just doesn’t exist as an easy
aftermarket install, so I now would like to use this class to see if I can get it together as a
potential product with all the learnings that I have gained from a lifetime of all types of boating.

Prior Art (legal term)

I have found various control systems for electric trolling motors, more recently in the wireless
space. I have also found energy management systems for more commercial and inline
applications where generators run electric motors as normal operation. There are Hybrid boats
out there that have an inline electric assist motor that powers the same propeller as the gas motor.
There are electric trolling motors, but can’t find any that mount to the outdrive. They are all bow
mount or row boat mount, not outdrive mount as an auxiliary. As many boats as I have seen at
the launch, I have yet to see one with a second auxiliary drive for trolling. I see the technology
out there, but integrating it all together into an efficient and modular package for the middle to
upper middle-class consumer with used boats does not seem to be something I can find any
product of.

Project Description
My project will entail a box that will attach to the boat battery(s) and manage input from solar
Bimini top which will be a separate product, and gas power while monitoring and controlling the
output that will drive an electric motor mounted to the outdrive. It will allow gas savings, boat
repair savings, and make operation easier at slower trolling speeds and around the dock.

Innovation Claim
My hybrid boat energy management system will not be using new innovative technology, but
taking current innovative technology and applying the 70/30 rule. It takes 30% of the effort and
money to get 70% of the way. It’s the last 30% that is costly, so for the common consumer I have
designed a system that will allow them to benefit from hybrid technology without breaking the
bank for optimized gains from the overall system benefit, not just the energy savings benefit.

Usage Scenario
The design is initially being targeted at boat use, but the technology could be in cooperated into
smarter ways to manage energy for electric golf carts or any other device that wants to support
recreational hybrid technology for transportation.

Evaluation Criteria
The following questions will identify the successful completion of the project:

1. Does the energy manager connect directly to the battery(s)?

2. Is it able to monitor solar intensity and feedback data to the end user?
3. Is it able to take in a variable throttle input?
4. Does it output a PWM based on throttle input position?
5. Does it measure battery charge state?
6. Does it measure engine alternator state?
7. Does it cut auxiliary motor power when battery state low?
8. When battery state is low and auxiliary motor power is cut, can engine still start?
9. Does it prevent the batteries from over charging?
10. Is there a user feedback of system state through a display or app?

Objectives and Tasks Associated with the Project

1. Create a circuit that will be able to take a battery voltage measurement and feed it back to the user
through a screen.
a. Source resistors to divide out the voltage for the microcontroller analog input.
b. Identify microcontroller with wireless communication so data can be sent to a phone app
or localized digital readout.
c. Write code that will take the voltage input and convert into user facing value in volts.
d. Breadboard out the design and test by comparing reading to DVOM.
e. Initial testing can be done through a serial communication to the computer.
2. Create a circuit that will control a motor through the digital output of the controller and can
control the motor direction of rotation and speed with a user inputted throttle.
a. Source a variable resistor that can be read through an analog port on the microcontroller
b. Design a circuit that can manage high current demands to the motor.
c. Identify a controller that has PWM capability.
d. Write code that will control the PWM speed based on the users throttle position.
e. Breadboard out and use oscilloscope to see if waveform changes frequency and direction
based on user input.
 3. The sun intensity will be monitored and fed back to the user through a screen.
a. Source a photoresistor and temperature sensor.
b. Design a circuit that will input into the analog port on the controller.
c. Write code that will take the data and convert it into user facing language.
d. Breadboard circuit and test with microcontroller. Initial testing can be done with a serial
monitor on the computer and some weather data to see if reasonably close.
e. Identify how to write an app and output onto a screen through I2C. Determine if both is a
good flexible path forward or to much work for not great user functionality
4. The module will charge the batteries and monitor state of charge which is fed back to the user
through a screen.
a. Research how to build a battery management system.
b. Determine if designing or buying and integrating a battery management system into the
core of the system is most efficient path.
c. Figure out how to determine state of charge if not part of purchased battery management
system and integrate user feedback to figure out how to best communicate energy stored
to energy being used when moving.
d. Write an app that feed data back to the user’s cell phone and/or a user screen.

Description of Design Prototype

The design prototype will be implemented onto a 19’ boat with an inboard 4cyl engine. The
modular energy management box will be tested with a trolling motor that will be a rough
mounted prototype of the auxiliary propulsion system it will run. I will then feed a solar panel
into it to see if the other functions seam to reasonably be working before I scale up to the full
solar Bimini top. I will then be able to see the charging and electric use energy activity. I will
then mount a throttle near the regular throttle and try to control the speed of the engine which
will control the speed of the boat.

Evaluation Plan
The initial evaluation will be done through bench testing with the various components. I will test
each input initially with a serial output from the controller to my laptop to see if a range of inputs
are as predicted to be. Outputs will be tested by triggering them to ensure they function through
the circuits as intended. I will then use the inputs to measure the outputs to ensure the logic is as
expected from the user’s perspective. Once everything is bench tested, I will then look at
installing it all into the boat for final testing for a later SIP class.

Project Completion Assessment

Note: This section must completed prior to SIP403/409.

Provide an in-depth description of the completion assessment of your project. Describe how well
the completed components function and highlight the innovative facets of your design. This is
sometimes known as a “Post-Mortem” or “Lessons-Learned Report”. A good approach for this
section is to answer the following 4 questions: “What went right? What went wrong? What was
learned throughout the process? What would be done differently if you had to do it again?

Appendices
Note: While students are encouraged to start citing their sources as soon as SIP311, this section must
completed prior to SIP403/409. For SIP402 (or SIP408), use this as a way to share your progress
TOWARDS completion with your SME

Include as appendices any supporting material for this project, including charts, graphs, and other
data; images associated with the project; or other documentation (e.g., a game design document
or read-me file). Include any prior art that was used such as U.S. Patent Documents, Foreign
Patent Documents, or other sources. Remember that this section should only be a list of
additional files, not the actual data of the files!

Use the following format:

Appendix letter: description of item – file name

Example…

Appendix A: Game design document – myGameDoc.docx

Appendix B: 3D render of primary character – mainCharacter.jpg

Appendix C: References

Author. (date). etc, following APA style.