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Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

wired.com

11–20 of 29 posts

Re: Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

#13
post #12

i'm reminded of the perhaps more impressive 'ghost': http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-21/juliet-marin...

Made by another serial inventor, Gregory Sancoff. Must be something about water that attracts inventors (and billionaires).

Re: Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

#14
Reminds me of the Bose active suspension system for automobiles:

http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/automotive/bose_suspensi...

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8sVDenpPOE

IIRC, the major difficulty with commercialization was gov't regulations?

Re: Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

#15
post #12

i'm reminded of the perhaps more impressive 'ghost': http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-21/juliet-marin...

Got me looking at impressive boats. This team broke the record at 65.45kts over 500m. Ride looks pretty rough.

http://www.sailrocket.com/node/674

Re: Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

#16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a lot moreso than you'd see in a hovercraft, which are currently used in some jurisdictions (including locally where I live) for the kind of rescue work this technology is initially aimed at. It's actually a pretty clever example of disruptive tech: it does almost everything a hovercraft does but is far closer to conventional tech and will likely be cheaper and lower maintenance.

Hovercraft don't have too many exposed moving parts. Just the two (or one) main rotors which also generate lift in most designs. One of the reasons cited for hovercraft disappearing from many applications is the increased maintenance costs relative to normal ferries. Externally this thing has far more mechanical joints than a hovercraft. The skirt on a hovercraft is just rubber-like material bolted together, there ar…

Your average roll on ferry has loads of exposed moving mechanical joints. Just look at the loading ramps. http://s3.freefoto.com/images/2026/49/2026_49_11_web.jpg

Re: Self-Stabilizing Boat’s Deck Is Always Flat, Even in Rough Waters

#19
post #11

It kind of looks like there is a Velodyne LIDAR on the roof. The "Even in Rough Waters" claim seems exaggerated.

The system is the work of David Hall, the engineer who founded Velodyne Acoustics in 1983 and invented an accelerometer-based servo system to control the movement of the cones used in subwoofers. In 2005, Hall developed the Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system now used by Google’s self-driving cars to map the physical world. Not long after that, he moved on to the idea of the Martini: a boat that rides so smoothly, no wave will spill your cocktail.
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