The F-Boat Project is an innovative initiative resulting from the collaboration between two universities, Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF) and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) with the aim of developing an autonomous sailboat, whose function is to monitor the waters of Guanabara Bay. This technology emerged due to the increase of environmental demands and it represents a vanguard initiative on the marine and environmental field.
The motivation for developing the F-Boat is driven by the critical need to monitor and preserve the waters of the bays and lagoons. This initiative is rooted in the commitment to environmental sustainability and the understanding of the importance of water quality for the health of marine ecosystems and the quality of life of local communities.
To watch the F-Boat in operation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5Qi1rFyclI
The F-Boat project benefited from the expertise of a diverse group of:
- researchers;
- students;
- faculty from the Departments of Electrical Engineering (TEE-UFF);
- faculty from Water Resources and Environmental Engineering (TGH-UFF);
- the Institute of Computing (IC-UFF);
- team from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN).
The F-Boat project received crucial financial support from institutions and entities committed to scientific and technological research, including:
- Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)
- Niterói City Hall
- Marinha do Brasil (brazilian navy)
- nVidia, a world leader in Artificial Intelligence solutions and high-performance embedded computing systems.
The construction of the F-Boat was a complex task that required specialized skills and experience in naval engineering. The construction process began in Natal, RN, and is ongoing in the city of Niterói, RJ. Some of the notable features of this autonomous sailboat include:
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Advanced Monitoring: The F-Boat is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for monitoring water conditions, allowing the collection of valuable data for environmental studies.
https://github.com/medialab-fboat/water-sensors-code -
Artificial Intelligence (AI): F-Boat has the computing power of nVidia to assist in artificial intelligence tasks.
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Automation: The F-Boat project is a tangible demonstration of UFF's commitment to investing in technologies with integrated systems that interact with each other. Below are some of the Arduino codes responsible for part of our boat's automation:
https://github.com/medialab-fboat/actuators-code-arduino-mega-and-arduino-uno-version
https://github.com/medialab-fboat/actuators-code-just-arduino-mega-version -
Computer Vision: Through computer vision the F-Boat will to interpret images and perform tasks such as object recognition and visual pattern detection.
https://github.com/medialab-fboat/Yara_OVE
✔️ Scientific Papers: Our research is documented in various scientific papers. Check out our collection of papers for more details on our work.
✔️ Physical Structure: To understand the physical structure of our system, refer to the structure documentation for detailed information. Here is the link to the F-Boat assembly playlist: https://youtu.be/whMxffAnQvg?si=sBRpf6gzzcGLlI3R
✔️ Academic Work: For in-depth information on our research, please refer to our collection of academic papers for detailed insights into our work.
✔️ Water Testing: For details on our water testing procedures and results, consult our water testing documentation for comprehensive information.
✔️ Desing of Electronic Boards: To gain insights into the electronic components of our system, please refer to the electronic board documentation for detailed information.
