Background Information/ Summer Research

            The problem that my team and I are designing a solution for is the difficult task of taking pictures underwater from inside a boat.  If you are in a boat you can not see through the bottom of it to take a picture of the life underneath you.  Another method currently used to take pictures underwater is scuba diving.  The scuba divers manually take photographs of the marine life around them.  However, in the winter months it is not suitable weather for scuba diving.  Therefore, our project is to build a glass bottom remote control vessel.

            The people who will be involved in this project are my teammate and I, our mentors, and the client.  My teammate MM and I will be designing and constructing the vessel.  Our mentors will be advising us along the way.  When the vessel is completed, our client will be using it to research and study benthic creatures in our selected location. 

All radio remote control vehicles have four main components.  These four parts are the transmitter, the receiver, the motor or motors, and the power source.  The transmitter is the device that you hold and operate by sending radio waves to the vehicle (or receiver) to control it.  The receiver is the vehicle that is being controlled.  It has an antenna and circuit board that receives signals from the transmitter and activates motors inside the vehicle.  The motor turns the wheels, steers the vehicle, and operates propellers.  The power source is the source that supplies the power for the vehicle.  It is usually a battery pack.  There are remote control cars, boats, trains, and remote control planes.  All of these work the same way in which this remote control glass bottom boat will work. 
A remote controlled vehicle is operated from a distance.  They can be operated using a wire connected to both the vehicle and the controller, or many other methods as well.  A radio controlled vehicle is an unattached remote controlled vehicle.    

Schematic diagram for a remote control boat

Second Schematic diagram for remote control boat

 

            This remote control video taking glass bottom vessel needs to be created because it is essential to videoing the bottom of the marine environment.  It will make the job of researching marine life much easier.  If the spots are detected where the benthic creatures are then people can steer clear of these specific spots as to not disturb the life.

            Other things that use the same components our vehicle will be using is things such as remote control boats, cars, and airplanes.  There are also many other glass bottom boats already in creation.  Figure one shows the Parite Boat.  Figure two shows a simpler glass bottom boat.  

Figure 1- Parite Boat- largest glass bottom spheroid in the world

Figure 2- inside of a glass bottom boat

 























Articles and Resources Used:

wiring diagrams: http://carwiringdiagrams.net/rc-car-controller-circuit-diagram-design-using-atmel-4414-ic/

Summer Research:
 
http://www.howstuffworks.com/rc-toy.htm

http://www.glen-l.com/submethd.html

http://www.boatbuildercentral.com/

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4674981_remote-control-car-work.html

How to build a remote control boat: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Remote-Control-Toy-Boat 


clear bottom canoe made of polymer: http://www.fitness-gadgets.com/water-sports/transparent-canoe-kayak-lets-you-see-beneath-while-you-paddle/

glass bottom canoe made of bullett proof glass: http://www.davison.com/creators/2009/04/02/glass-bottom-tour/

canoe with glass window on the bottom: http://synergyboatworks.com/custom.aspx 

http://www.paritetboat.com/main.htm

WHAT IS FIBERGLASS? http://www.diseno-art.com/tutorials/fiberglass.html

plexiglass (a light transparent weather resistant thermoplastic)