Boat Hybrid Energy Manager

(Hybrid Solar Boat Component)

Creator:

Kenneth Carr, Embedded Robotics & Artificial Intelligence

Last Updated: 3/13/2022

Technical Field
This project involves multiple technical fields including embedded robotics, electrical
engineering, mechanical engineering, app design, systems engineering and web design with IoT.

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 many bond fire discussions with my father around solar
energy and other renewable ways to travel for “free energy” on the water like sailing. This grew
into discussing all the pains of every boat type including gas motors, sailing, electric, and manual
paddling. Then watching fishing boats blast across the lake but with trolling motors maneuver
the boat traffic and docks 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. At the time
of these discussions, solar and electric motor technology was limited, and I still had years left to
graduate high school, so my abilities were also limited. Fast forward to a decade later to 2020
and some more focused and educated research, I found all electric and hybrid boats of any size
were newer and expensive so a modular system that is a retrofit for a boat such as mine just
doesn’t exist as an easy aftermarket install. I now intend 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 such as MotorGuide’s Xi5. I have also found energy management systems for
more commercial and inline applications where generators run electric motors as normal
operation or backup large 300+ VDC battery banks such as Torqeedo. 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 took me a while to find any that mount to the outdrive.
What makes mine different is it will mount to the outdrive without drilling a bunch of holes
which is how the others mount. Aside from the 1 transom mount I found, they are all bow mount
or rowboat mount. As many boats as I have seen at the launch, I have yet to see one with a
second auxiliary drive mounted to the ICE outdrive. I see the technology out there but integrating
it all together into an efficient and modular system for the middle to upper middle-class
consumer with used boats does not seem to be something I can find any product of.
Using Google patents, I have found many hybrid boat systems but none that are a system
as I am proposing in the modular nature that I am proposing with the feedback app that I am
proposing to tie the system of things together to optimize the boat owners experience. I am also
targeting residential use, and most are targeting commercial use. I am also seeing a lot of them
using fuel cell technology in parallel to solar technology to drive zero emissions vs a smaller
gain hybrid approach that isn’t optimized for “green energy” but for end user experience.
After reading hundreds of patents, I have found a very close competing idea. The patent
number US 2015/005995A1 which is a “Electronic system and method of automating, controller,
and optimizing the operations of failsafe energy storage for electronic outboard motors and for
marine hybrid propulsion systems”. There are a few key differences from my innovation and
his. The first key difference is right in the title, for “outboards”. He is managing multiple
rowboat type mounted ICE motors and trolling motors that are all independent and tied together
through his system. I am mounting a small modular motor that quickly mounts to the out drive of
an inboard / outboard setup for true integration. The next big difference is in the energy storage
method. I am designing the system to work with standard 12VDC deep cycle batteries which are
easily purchasable if not already installed in the boat. He has a “energy storage module” or ESM
which I have found has a few key features that leads me to believe he is targeting newer
technologies as everyone else is. Sheet 7 of his patent shows the ESM technology and highlights
a Can Bus connection with a BMS. Doing some research this has led me to believe that he is
targeting lithium or equivalent technology since standard deep cycle batteries don’t require cell
balancing like lithium technologies do which will keep my design more cost effective. Another
difference is he has an optional generator that also can feed the system, I will not have a
generator but pull energy from the alternator of the inboard motor as the boat is driving at higher
speeds down the lake. The last difference is how I will be managing the information and
providing feedback to the user as well as providing a safeguard against a dead battery for the
main inboard engine to protect against no start situations which are common on the water. I
believe my design is a more innovative solution for the average consumer with a very common-
sense approach to the problem instead of just trying to capture every new system level idea
possible to make sure not to miss the new market around green energy. I was not able to find any
reasonable details that led me to believe there is a product because of this patent.

Project Description
My project will entail a module that will attach to the main boat battery(s) and manage
auxiliary batteries with charging input from solar and gas power while monitoring output to
accessories and a special no wake motor signal that will drive an electric motor module mounted
to the outdrive. It will allow gas savings, boat repair savings, and make operation easier at slower
trolling speeds and around the dock. There will be a phone app that will connect to the inboard
energy management module which will provide feedback to the user of issues and suggestions to
enhance the efficiency, user experience, and proactive diagnostics.
Innovation Claim
My modular hybrid boat energy management system will be innovating in the
management of energy systems through software and hardware. The supporting app will be
innovative with how it uses that data collected by the integrated AI mechanic to interact with the
boat and owner to save energy costs, repair bills, and make boat owners more aware of issues
prior to failure.

Usage Scenario
The design is initially being targeted for boat use, it will typically be installed on boats
that are 19’ or less with inboard / outboard setups. The boat owner will be able to easily install
the devise(s) and get feedback to their phone as if they had a hybrid mechanic always monitoring
the system for robust and efficient operation. The technology could be in cooperated into smarter
ways to manage energy for electric golf carts or any other device that wants to support hybrid
technology for older transportation technology.

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. The module will monitor battery(s) state of charge against charging inputs
a. Design a battery monitoring circuit for the main module
b. Design a charging monitoring circuit for the main module
 2. The module will have a motor control output that can control an electric motors direction of
rotation and speed with a user inputted throttle.
a. Design user controls circuit and interaction
b. Design motor control circuit
3. The module will monitor the local environmental conditions.
a. Design air temperature circuit
b. Design water temperature circuit
c. Design solar intensity circuit
4. The module will charge the batteries and manage energy to prevent dead batteries on the water.
a. Design main motor start safe circuit
5. Have a user app that intelligently managed the energy ecosystem in the boat and local
environment around the boat by collecting data and providing pertinent feedback to the end user
while controlling critical functions unknown to the user in the background.
a. Layout system level design of how everything will interact with the module
b. Identify how to architecture the app
c. Establish a Bluetooth connection between app and controller
d. Create home screen with parameters
e. Create new screen graphs with data

Description of Design Prototype

The first prototype of system scale will be a paper prototype of a mind map so I can
ensure the system works as intended. This will allow me to quickly adjust and highlight high risk
areas in the system so I can first start in those areas to de risk the design. See the paper prototype
below that will continuously be iterated until it is time to build sub sections to de risk part of the
design. This will also make it easier to parallel path efforts efficiently if desired.
 The first practically functional prototype will be a bench setup that has an alternator
being spun by a drill motor to simulate an engine running and a solar panel that is plugged into
the module. The full-size design prototype will be implemented onto a 19’ boat with an inboard
4cyl engine. The modular energy management box will be installed in the engine compartment
with the batteries and the electric motor will be mounted to the outdrive. A solar panel will be
mounted over the driver seat space and an app will be connected to the controller through
Bluetooth to monitor everything as it is running with further data uploaded to the cloud.

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

The first big learning from doing this project to date was how to efficiently manage the
project and system of things since that is the core of my innovation. I tried to manage the project
through a feature list in Trello which was great for tasks but still had to manage the system in my
head because I couldn’t figure out a good way in Trello. I went to an indented format in OneNote
like writing a program pseudo code which made it organized and algorithmic, but still hard to
visualize the system more as a system. Next, I went to Visio and Lucid which both work well but
still kind of clunky when moving lots of parts around that had lots of subparts. I also was
struggling to get any details tied to an item quickly and make the system very visual with critical
details captured. Finally, I landed on Mindomo as a mind map tool that gave me quick color
coding with the ability to replace items with videos, charts, or links. I can also extend each item
and quickly add notes with it for further details. It also allows me to draw arrows quickly to
create relations like drawing on a white board and then adding levels of detail as needed. I am
still learning how to use it but from the training videos it appears I can assign actual tasks for
each mind mapped item with a data and make it autogenerate a gant chart to manage the
timeline. From what I know today this is the quickest and easiest way to manage a system high
level without losing critical details along the way.
 The next big learning was by convenient accident and unrelated to the actual project but
how company provided computers can quickly mess you up with software projects when tech
support sets it up for company use. I was avoiding buying a new computer, so I used my
company one that was “fully unlocked to do anything” per tech support. Although this was true a
admin account was create separate of mine and when I loaded the software for programing
embedded controller it didn’t work and the program would only half load. Visual Studios would
load but PlatformIO wouldn’t load even after it installed successfully. I have yet to fully resolve
it but after weeks of fighting with it I finally bought a new computer and setup wasn’t a issue.
What I did learn is an enterprise computer with the separate admin did have some path folders
moved from how they are when I am the admin with my own computer which is where I believe
the problem lays. Doing other projects, I learned a lot about debugging issues around the
computer operating system which will be invaluable long term. An example is python installs
inside specific folders through the command prompt after putting certain files in another folder
and calling it. This type of trouble shooting although tedious and a big setback on my project will
set me up for greater success at troubleshooting issues so I can focus on the project at hand.

The last big lessons learned I had was setting up the embedded controller and Bluetooth
interface that would communicate with the app that I am creating for the user interaction. I first
learned there was a standard Bluetooth and a Bluetooth lite which was more energy efficient
which may be better for what I am doing. Either way I learned that Bluetooth lite is not as
common which I thought was the cause of my communication issues but learned wasn’t. When
creating the app, I used MIT app inventor first which I learned was primary for Android use. I
tried using it for iOS as it showed online, but it was a band aid at best and mostly unsuccessful.
After weeks of struggling, I finally bought a cheap android phone and it worked without issue, so
I learned the importance of laying out good architecture first around what operating systems the
innovation is slated to work on. I am just starting to dig into React Native more since that I
learned has a great multiplatform architecture up front and used for Facebook because of that.
This should solve my platform and operating system issue, but I learned how critical that
research and testing is upfront before creating a full app and then debugging when the core of the
problem could have been found sooner by starting smaller scale and doing more research.

Appendices
Appendix A: Outboard motor(s) hybrid manager patent - US20150005995A1.pdf