Mechanical:

• Support 10 lbs: The boat should be able to hold the box which is made of glass, circuits and whatever amount of trash that our boat can hold. 

• Buoyant force must be at least 5 lbs greater than 10 lbs

• Chassis should not be over 10 lbs

• Can tow 10 lbs of waste before needing new net

• Motor can reach speed of 1.5 knots or around 0.75 m/s

• Center bridge should be able to withstand being turned on its side without a bend of greater than 0.05 inches. This will be tested using the bend equation for a beam supported at both ends.

 

Electrical:

• Runs on 9 Volts: all electronics should be efficient and be able to with 9 volts.  

• Batteries last one hour on full power:

• Solar panels for extra support: The solar panels are there for supporting the battery so that the battery life can last longer. 

• Controlled wirelessly up to 100 yards away: This will allow the movement of the boat being controlled by someone off shore. 

• Motors go a max of 50,000 rpm: This ensures that the boat can go quick if needed and go slow when picking up trash. 

• Wind sensor: The wind sensor will help us understand what harsh weather our boat can go into. Depending on the results we get, the boat may be able to operate in hurricane like conditions.

• Control should be simple with less than three buttons/joysticks to operate: The controller allows for motors to be controlled by up and down joysticks. These joysticks can be used for making the boat go forwards, backwards, or turning the boat if one motor is on and the other isn’t. The last button is for turning off and on power.

Environmental:

• IP67 waterproofing: Able to withstand being submerged one meter below water for 30 minutes. This will be modeled by creating perfect seals between parts that would be epoxied together and a rubber casing for the electrical components.

• Should be able to operate in all reasonable temperatures - 0 to 100 deg F.

• Salt Water Corrosion Prevention: This is necessary as the boat would be used in salt water oceans for cleanup. What needs to be protected is metal components. How we would almost ensure protection from salt water is by first limiting the amount of metal used in the first place in exposed areas and for exposed metals we would use anti-corrosion coatings. This would be used on the metal clips that connect to the net, screws, and brackets. As well we would opt for stainless steel for the necessary metal components.

• Sand Abrasion: In order to protect the surface of the boat from sand and other small debris floating in the water we would be using a painted protective coat on the outside of the hull to prevent damage.