I'm a former aero engineer. I've been a sailor. Yet, I could never have conceived this innovative invention. I'm really impressed with your work and your talent. Wow, keep it up. I hope your work becomes the future we see on the water every day.
One caveat: Most ocean cruisers don't sail in strong winds. Rather, they use modern weather forecasting tools to search for and sail in "weather windows" of light winds. As for sand, use plenty of dry lubricants! Joint, seal and brush (attached, for sweeping out sand) design also minimizes the intrusion of sand while maximizing it's removal.
This kite machine is a great solution for green energy. The windmills produce lots a glassfiber trash too. Kites weight far less. Improving the kites aerodynamics, by putting some glassfibre rods in might help. With rods in the kite , the kite doesn't need all these lines anymore. I have invented a flying machine that is very good in harvesting energy. But it got the motor and all these parts inside. But it's design is very tuff. It can't speed up like a plane if crashing. And it should survive a crash into water. It survives gusts too. With your machine, electric Paraglider travelling becomes an option. Just land if the batteries get empty. And recharge using the kite as wind generator.
Great work Christian. I just found this video and I will be binge watching you others. It is not that often you find fellow inventors in renewable energy who are not part of a massive corporate company and working on something new. If I can help with anything, I will let you know!
I would love to see more of those longer videos with explanations of the technology and the progress rather than the short videos that only show the parts in action. I am excited about this project.
That is exactly what I was working on, I kept this one a little bit short out of fear of boring people. I'm going to see about investing in better sound equipment and cameras for time lapses
What a phenomenal piece of gear that has applications both at sea and on land. I'd love to see it in use by a couple of my favorite seafaring channels, Spear It Animal, Lauren Landers, or Expedition Evans to name a few.
So right now I'm looking for partners that have some type of maritime expertise. I can produce one or two, but I'd really like it to look like a finished commercial product.. Think of how useful this would be in a demasting situation
Came curious, ended up watching whole video, left impressed and informed. 3D printers have democratised engineering like no other technology, it's incredible. Great work!
Epic post, Christian, with amazing details and great editing bringing it all together! Oviously you are brilliant and talented in so many ways. You can add Video Producer and Director along with that Program Manager hat! Looking forward to more posts and encourage others to like, comment and follow along your incredible channel!
For tracking the kite, use color coded retroreflective tape on the corners of the Kite. Have your camera system equipped with a light to beam at the reflectors. Then use something like OpenCV to locate the reflectors in the camera image and solve the Kite’s orientation and relative velocity.
Hello sir. I am a high functioning autistic, also an avid sailor and came across your channel while thinking and researching! I would love to talk more with you! Blessings.
Agreed fascinating ..but your slightly soft spoken ..no bad thing as a teacher of many years I can testify to that ...but I would suggest drop the very low level background music throughout, its not something people with diminished hearing can cope with well ... Or some forms of neuro divergence. Use it behind long shots etc. Carbon fiber and GRP materials are useful but environmentally questionable. Take a look at Windelo's work they use recycled PET but found it lacks strength for core material. They do however use Basalt fiber for the hull skin.. it's very effective .. if I can put you onto the links. .. using ten percent of the energy CO2 and even less water. Check Basalt .... gurus he will know where to find it stateside. The good news is it's impervious to most chemicals, salt water, UV and harder radiation, temperature changes, it's ballistically and abrasion very robust. It's none toxic and the fibers are none irritating. It's also an excellent insulator in all areas. You don't want to have to spend all your time restoring a hull.. but a light cat or trimeran hull would give you some massive advantages. In terms of mounting and kite handling ..I will assume you've gone through UTube with a fine comb for kite boats and ships using kites. Reducing the static loading on the drum is dependent on bringing the kite in, under reduced tension by putting it in a neutral position by elevating it's position above the boat. Look at the Portuguese guy who made the first transatlantic solo crossing . A older grp Prout, Maine cat, Elan, Comanche or Cherokee's ... wooden cats like the 🇬🇧 Wharram catamarans.. James was the first man to cross the Atlantic in a DIY catamaran in 1955… would make a great base to work from .. the heeling of monohulls esp with full keels causes all sorts of issues and handling problems even in moderate conditions. There's always a few for free in move it or loose it/ health or owner deceased type boats going.. especially if they have lost or time expired mast rigs. A great project ⛵😉🧙🏻♂️ and really good to hear you talking to other pioneers. There's two guys I can think of you might want to contact . There's a young guy who does some amazing printing and waypoint boat work for RC Flightlines on U tube. The other is Madds a Danish guy with an inbuilt OCD tendency and techy background whose rebuilt a boat sailed the Atlantic and has an American wife. ..and is looking for a new project ⛵...
He has abilities, but no brilliance. Just stupid. He is making a complex expensive and unreliable mess, to solve a problem that doesn't exist, because the kites work better without it. Have no need for it. He is going to kill people if he sells these. KISS! KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID! You are very stupid to say "we can make it cheaper and simpler in the US" When all the machines, and materials are made by other countries. You are gilding the lily. Stamping made in the US on sweatshop labour products.
Propulsion and electric generation in one package! That's cool Christian, thanks for going deeper into the design of this concept. How exactly is it generating electricity? is it the looping of the kite rotating the drum? of is it from some a sort of brake regeneration system when letting the kite lines out?
Great question, so it's more of a spiral than a loop, as it pays line out it unspools line from the drum, that drum is connected to an electric motor that doubles as a generator. Pretty much Regen braking but for a reel!
You the MAN! Keep up great work!!! BTW: those cargo ship/tankers using the "Belugha" sp? systems for fuel reduction: what how are their systems able to fly as crossing oceans?
No doubt In Perfect weather the multihulls are perfect. I postulate that under kite a mono will remain the perfect platform when Weather is imperfect. (Same as under sail) I believe we will have data on this in 12 months.
I've been thinking about this type of system for so long. I'm thinking about implementing some sort of kite system to supplement my yacht sail plan for a circumnavigation.
Very interesting. Fiberglass-filled nylon is used in injection molding. There is short-strand and long-strand with the latter being the best in terms of strength. I wonder if there’s a choice with the filament? Dude! You are the king of FreeCAD.
Very nice! I think a cat would be better than the monohull, but the monohull is a lot closer! You mind shooting me an email or contacting me on linkedin? Christian.Harrell.okellc@gmail.com
I love engaging and so I am very intrigued with what you are doing. I don’t believe in the concept of something not being possible. And that’s why I believe that you will eventually accomplish your desired. Just a few questions: 1) Could you please say where you get your various parts made? 2) Did you use FreeCAD for the whole project? And does its output the usual common formats that machine shops require? Thanks very much 🙏🏾
You have mastered the freecad. The sensors are beautiful. 11:00 minutes in and this was my question too, how do you fly a kite? How even do you tack up wind? So many questions . Really dazzling. Thank you
Do you use any type of lubricant on the moving parts? Do the plastic gears get hot or make static electricity from friction? I used to do metal fabrication and repair in the navy. I’m intrigued by your invention man.
So I prototyped in PLA, and it's actually a great material for sizing parts because it's so cheap. It's only problems are its low heat tolerance, creep under load, and lack of waterproofing.. Funny you mention being a Navy mechanic, my friend is a diesel marine mechanic. He gave me this great Teflon grease lubricant that works really well for the larger gears.. I am interested to see how it will work with the fiber-glass nylon gears... But let me tell you these gears feel bulletproof
Awesome, I have been fascinated by the use of kites to augment sail area on boats for a while now, what is interesting in your case is that you want to use the kite to generate power I am very interested in this aspect as solar on a boat is great but there is room for another method of generating power at night or in windy conditions. Some of the challenges with kites at sea is the very radical difference between the wind from almost nothing to gail force winds. Word of caution, using recycled plastic for non mechanical parts is ok, but for parts that need to retain integrity over a long period of time you need to spec the product higher. There are carbon cor filaments available, let me know if you need more information on them. Keep posting your work, this is very interesting.
Brilliant. Just one suggestion: if you have two induction sensors you will be able to tell the direction of rotation, not just the number of times it rotates.
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy There is a requirement for a large number of autonomous boats that I have identified. At the moment I am looking at combinations of wind and wave propulsion. There will be solar panels but they will be needed to power the electronics and steering and payload. Maybe a folding propeller, in case it is drifting too close to the shore, and the wind is in the wrong direction to get away. I am wondering if this kite approach can be used on an autonomous boat? Questions: what happens when the kite gets wet? From rain, or landing in the water? Can it autonomously retrieve and re-launch the kite after it inevitably lands in the water?
@@StabilisingGlobalTemperature this system would be perfect on an autonomous Boat, but I have to admit there is a bit more hardware that is necessary.. ideally I think you would want a mechanism to capture and fold the kite.. maybe even swap out kites. Currently the kite engine is the best solution for retrieving a crashed multi like kite.. (and even relaunching) because you can undo any potential twists from the engine/winch itself.. it sounds simple but many winches cannot rotate from the mount.. Other multi line kite system are a big hassle if it crashes.. because you can't reel in a twisted line. And many kite boarding kites are waterproof/water resistant, it's fine in the rain
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy Thanks for the helpful reply. I have done quite a lot of sailing. I am wondering what the advantage of a kite is relative to a sail? I suppose that the force on the boat is applied much lower down, so the boat would hardly heel at all, for a given wind speed. And with your invention it can produce electricity at night, which of course solar panels cannot. I have another suggestion: If you stick a reflective tape to the kite, then a flashlight would illuminate it enough for the camera to see it at night.
A. Outstanding, B. Good Luck at Open Sauce, C. I'm a Harry Proa fan too, now for the (D.) gratuitous comments - love Grin Technologies BUT have you considered PCB printed axial flux motors/generators? Lighter weight more efficient and perhaps more suitable for your design and enabler for part reduction eg planetary drive etc.
Mike that is great! Thanks for your interest. I've been doing this long enough to realize that I don't realize what I don't know! I'd like to ask some questions about the best way to prototype the electronics, like should I stick with premade motor controllers and use Arduino to interface with those motor controllers.. or start from scratch or somewhere in between.. def shoot me an email when you find the time, Christian.Harrell.OKELLC@gmail.com
One of the problems with making the entire thing out of plastic is certainly that the wear you're seeing is already finely broken-down microplastics emitted in the environment.
You're totally right.. I think the plastic will be best for parts that don't experience wear.. like the coverings.. basically anything that is not a gear.. we can also electroplate it to make it more UV resistant
The power generation is the goal, but like with cars we start with a manual transmission, then we get automatic transmission, then we get cars with regen braking... and ultimately a self driving car.. I'm looking for larger partners and I want to be clear on the practical steps that are necessary to get to the self driving.. but right now, we've definitely on manual car level.. with a little automatic transmission with the electric motors..
I've seen one of your previous videos and was quite impressed. However it doesn't seem like you have advanced since then. Playing with recycled materials holds no value to an end user. Honestly, commercially, we don't care! The difference your kite machine will make to the world of disposable everything is less than one millionth of one percent, why you would waste time and money on that I have no idea. We need to know that it works, it's strong and reliable and the real benefits of owning one either in extra distance per gallon/Litre of fuel or extra speed/distance under sail. Also the Regen possibilities need to be explained in a lot more detail and in a user friendly way, as it is now it seems you're using the word Regen like many marine engine manufacturers, as a marketing ploy but in reality absolutely of zero value. So if you're serious about making a commercial product, then get serious! If you're just playing around with a toy that interests you then enjoy your play time. Personally I'm disappointed by this video compared to your previous.
How soon do you think you can have a working option. I have a 52ft steel motor yacht in the UK , looking to bring it to Canada soon . Can you contact me if your interested in providing for a major test and presentation. Regards Ian
So there are a couple of different models, manual, automatic, and autonomous. You'll be able to upgrade the manual to automatic and autonomous.. I think depending on partnerships we can get the manual done by late summer/early fall. Right now I am working on the gimbal mount
Loving this project, Christian. Best of luck
Much obliged my friend.
Your mind and perservence are amazing 👍🤗
Thank you very much, I think we're definitly poised to change things. Half the pilot program is filled, cant wait to show the results!
I'm a former aero engineer. I've been a sailor. Yet, I could never have conceived this innovative invention. I'm really impressed with your work and your talent. Wow, keep it up. I hope your work becomes the future we see on the water every day.
Can’t wait for the sea trials.
I enjoy watching your progress. Thanks for sharing your project with us. Wishing you luck.
Great job Christian. You're an excellent explainer as well as a cool inventor. Quick note: your Patreon link here on TH-cam takes us to an error page.
You sir, are in the footstep of Leonardo da Vinci. The world is proud and thankfull to have you amidst us.
Thank you very much!
One caveat: Most ocean cruisers don't sail in strong winds. Rather, they use modern weather forecasting tools to search for and sail in "weather windows" of light winds.
As for sand, use plenty of dry lubricants! Joint, seal and brush (attached, for sweeping out sand) design also minimizes the intrusion of sand while maximizing it's removal.
Great constructive advice my friend, I will definitely look into dry lubricants, I've never considered brushes...
good luck with the project. It's very inspiring
This kite machine is a great solution for green energy.
The windmills produce lots a glassfiber trash too.
Kites weight far less.
Improving the kites aerodynamics, by putting some glassfibre rods in might help.
With rods in the kite , the kite doesn't need all these lines anymore.
I have invented a flying machine that is very good in harvesting energy.
But it got the motor and all these parts inside.
But it's design is very tuff. It can't speed up like a plane if crashing. And it should survive a crash into water. It survives gusts too.
With your machine, electric Paraglider travelling becomes an option.
Just land if the batteries get empty. And recharge using the kite as wind generator.
Well concept is old but the way to control kite is truly unique and interesting. Anyway great job, I love it and hold my thumbs :) Start up?
Brilliant, compelling, far reaching and instructive.
You embody the best attributes of a modern human who wants to make this world better.
Christian you ROCK :)
For sure I will have your kite control on my Cat as soon as you're ready !!!
Keep on your incredible work my friend !
Awesome to see the progress. Cant wait to use this in the future.
This guys is a damn role model! Putting wind in more than sails my friend!
Wow this is incredible. Nice local fabrication also.
Thanks for noticing, that's exactly what I'm going for
Great work Christian. I just found this video and I will be binge watching you others. It is not that often you find fellow inventors in renewable energy who are not part of a massive corporate company and working on something new. If I can help with anything, I will let you know!
I would love to see more of those longer videos with explanations of the technology and the progress rather than the short videos that only show the parts in action. I am excited about this project.
That is exactly what I was working on, I kept this one a little bit short out of fear of boring people. I'm going to see about investing in better sound equipment and cameras for time lapses
What a phenomenal piece of gear that has applications both at sea and on land. I'd love to see it in use by a couple of my favorite seafaring channels, Spear It Animal, Lauren Landers, or Expedition Evans to name a few.
So right now I'm looking for partners that have some type of maritime expertise. I can produce one or two, but I'd really like it to look like a finished commercial product.. Think of how useful this would be in a demasting situation
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy it's beyond utilitarian sir! I wish you the best of luck in every way!
You total legend Christian.
The detail and level of innovation you created from nothing
Heroic
Rod, coming from you that means a lot thank you so much.
Came curious, ended up watching whole video, left impressed and informed.
3D printers have democratised engineering like no other technology, it's incredible.
Great work!
It's only getting better too, it's to the point where if you can imagine it you can basically make it
You are a Genius, Craftsman, and now Project Manager!
Have a great experience at OpenSauce!
All the best,
M-
Thanks so much, it's going to be fun!!
You already know via mail how invested i am in your developments, so here's one for the algorithm
Epic post, Christian, with amazing details and great editing bringing it all together! Oviously you are brilliant and talented in so many ways. You can add Video Producer and Director along with that Program Manager hat! Looking forward to more posts and encourage others to like, comment and follow along your incredible channel!
this is so cool. all the best for you.
cant wait to see how this evolves
Well done. It’s coming along. 🎉
For tracking the kite, use color coded retroreflective tape on the corners of the Kite. Have your camera system equipped with a light to beam at the reflectors. Then use something like OpenCV to locate the reflectors in the camera image and solve the Kite’s orientation and relative velocity.
Exactly my friend. Completely solves the equipment aloft problem.
Hello sir. I am a high functioning autistic, also an avid sailor and came across your channel while thinking and researching! I would love to talk more with you! Blessings.
You are a true inventor! A modern day Leonardo DaVinci! The world need as many as you! Keep up the good work man!
Love what you're doing. Keep up the great work.
Awesome build and design, you need to call this Air Force One!
Thanks Sir.
You doing great job for all of Us 🙏
FreeCAD!? Hell Yeah! Awesome design and tech sir! Kudos! Love your work!
Keep up the good work. I hope your solutions come sooner than later, but understand it's always an ongoing process. I'll be watching.
You really are a genius! By far the smartest idea I have saw in a long long time! It just makes sense!
You are a brilliant and interesting man. Your audio levels are all over the place and often very low.
Agreed fascinating ..but your slightly soft spoken ..no bad thing as a teacher of many years I can testify to that ...but I would suggest drop the very low level background music throughout, its not something people with diminished hearing can cope with well ... Or some forms of neuro divergence. Use it behind long shots etc.
Carbon fiber and GRP materials are useful but environmentally questionable. Take a look at Windelo's work they use recycled PET but found it lacks strength for core material.
They do however use Basalt fiber for the hull skin.. it's very effective .. if I can put you onto the links. .. using ten percent of the energy CO2 and even less water. Check Basalt .... gurus he will know where to find it stateside. The good news is it's impervious to most chemicals, salt water, UV and harder radiation, temperature changes, it's ballistically and abrasion very robust. It's none toxic and the fibers are none irritating. It's also an excellent insulator in all areas.
You don't want to have to spend all your time restoring a hull.. but a light cat or trimeran hull would give you some massive advantages. In terms of mounting and kite handling ..I will assume you've gone through UTube with a fine comb for kite boats and ships using kites.
Reducing the static loading on the drum is dependent on bringing the kite in, under reduced tension by putting it in a neutral position by elevating it's position above the boat.
Look at the Portuguese guy who made the first transatlantic solo crossing .
A older grp Prout, Maine cat, Elan, Comanche or Cherokee's ... wooden cats like the 🇬🇧 Wharram catamarans.. James was the first man to cross the Atlantic in a DIY catamaran in 1955… would make a great base to work from .. the heeling of monohulls esp with full keels causes all sorts of issues and handling problems even in moderate conditions.
There's always a few for free in move it or loose it/ health or owner deceased type boats going.. especially if they have lost or time expired mast rigs.
A great project ⛵😉🧙🏻♂️ and really good to hear you talking to other pioneers.
There's two guys I can think of you might want to contact . There's a young guy who does some amazing printing and waypoint boat work for RC Flightlines on U tube. The other is Madds a Danish guy with an inbuilt OCD tendency and techy background whose rebuilt a boat sailed the Atlantic and has an American wife. ..and is looking for a new project ⛵...
He has abilities, but no brilliance. Just stupid.
He is making a complex expensive and unreliable mess, to solve a problem that doesn't exist, because the kites work better without it. Have no need for it. He is going to kill people if he sells these.
KISS!
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!
You are very stupid to say "we can make it cheaper and simpler in the US"
When all the machines, and materials are made by other countries.
You are gilding the lily.
Stamping made in the US on sweatshop labour products.
Thanks for the support, I'll definitely look into this
Propulsion and electric generation in one package! That's cool Christian, thanks for going deeper into the design of this concept. How exactly is it generating electricity? is it the looping of the kite rotating the drum? of is it from some a sort of brake regeneration system when letting the kite lines out?
Great question, so it's more of a spiral than a loop, as it pays line out it unspools line from the drum, that drum is connected to an electric motor that doubles as a generator. Pretty much Regen braking but for a reel!
Absolute legend, crushing it man
You the MAN! Keep up great work!!! BTW: those cargo ship/tankers using the "Belugha" sp? systems for fuel reduction: what how are their systems able to fly as crossing oceans?
I want to test this on my 38 foot cruising catamaran!
Multihulls are the perfect platform.
No doubt In Perfect weather the multihulls are perfect.
I postulate that under kite a mono will remain the perfect platform when
Weather is imperfect. (Same as under sail)
I believe we will have data on this in 12 months.
‘You’ shall have data
Sorry about using the Royal ‘we’
Just felt like I was on the team
I've been thinking about this type of system for so long. I'm thinking about implementing some sort of kite system to supplement my yacht sail plan for a circumnavigation.
This is ingenious
Subscribed and looking forward to see your success in this project!
You’re a genius bro.
Thank you
Your work is inspiring
Very interesting. Fiberglass-filled nylon is used in injection molding. There is short-strand and long-strand with the latter being the best in terms of strength. I wonder if there’s a choice with the filament?
Dude! You are the king of FreeCAD.
I have a project boat for you. It’s an abandoned 40’ + catamaran in the Caribbean.
Very nice! I think a cat would be better than the monohull, but the monohull is a lot closer! You mind shooting me an email or contacting me on linkedin? Christian.Harrell.okellc@gmail.com
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy ok will do.
I love engaging and so I am very intrigued with what you are doing. I don’t believe in the concept of something not being possible. And that’s why I believe that you will eventually accomplish your desired. Just a few questions:
1) Could you please say where you get your various parts made?
2) Did you use FreeCAD for the whole project? And does its output the usual common formats that machine shops require?
Thanks very much 🙏🏾
You have mastered the freecad. The sensors are beautiful.
11:00 minutes in and this was my question too, how do you fly a kite? How even do you tack up wind? So many questions . Really dazzling. Thank you
So this is a big subject I plan on covering next, we can go up wind but we'll need bigger kites and a large keel
Incredible ❤👍
Love this
Keep it up!
Congrats
btw, a helium/hot air balloon could also drag objects to the wind direction, being a huge sail surface area floating in the sky
We need an update!
Coming soon!
Do you use any type of lubricant on the moving parts? Do the plastic gears get hot or make static electricity from friction? I used to do metal fabrication and repair in the navy. I’m intrigued by your invention man.
So I prototyped in PLA, and it's actually a great material for sizing parts because it's so cheap. It's only problems are its low heat tolerance, creep under load, and lack of waterproofing..
Funny you mention being a Navy mechanic, my friend is a diesel marine mechanic. He gave me this great Teflon grease lubricant that works really well for the larger gears.. I am interested to see how it will work with the fiber-glass nylon gears... But let me tell you these gears feel bulletproof
Awesome, I have been fascinated by the use of kites to augment sail area on boats for a while now, what is interesting in your case is that you want to use the kite to generate power I am very interested in this aspect as solar on a boat is great but there is room for another method of generating power at night or in windy conditions. Some of the challenges with kites at sea is the very radical difference between the wind from almost nothing to gail force winds.
Word of caution, using recycled plastic for non mechanical parts is ok, but for parts that need to retain integrity over a long period of time you need to spec the product higher.
There are carbon cor filaments available, let me know if you need more information on them.
Keep posting your work, this is very interesting.
Brilliant. Just one suggestion: if you have two induction sensors you will be able to tell the direction of rotation, not just the number of times it rotates.
Very good point, I've got the induction sensors, but I also have hall sensors inside of the motors, this will help with determining the direction.
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy There is a requirement for a large number of autonomous boats that I have identified. At the moment I am looking at combinations of wind and wave propulsion. There will be solar panels but they will be needed to power the electronics and steering and payload. Maybe a folding propeller, in case it is drifting too close to the shore, and the wind is in the wrong direction to get away.
I am wondering if this kite approach can be used on an autonomous boat?
Questions: what happens when the kite gets wet? From rain, or landing in the water?
Can it autonomously retrieve and re-launch the kite after it inevitably lands in the water?
@@StabilisingGlobalTemperature this system would be perfect on an autonomous Boat, but I have to admit there is a bit more hardware that is necessary.. ideally I think you would want a mechanism to capture and fold the kite.. maybe even swap out kites.
Currently the kite engine is the best solution for retrieving a crashed multi like kite.. (and even relaunching) because you can undo any potential twists from the engine/winch itself.. it sounds simple but many winches cannot rotate from the mount.. Other multi line kite system are a big hassle if it crashes.. because you can't reel in a twisted line.
And many kite boarding kites are waterproof/water resistant, it's fine in the rain
@@Ocean_Kite_Energy Thanks for the helpful reply. I have done quite a lot of sailing. I am wondering what the advantage of a kite is relative to a sail? I suppose that the force on the boat is applied much lower down, so the boat would hardly heel at all, for a given wind speed. And with your invention it can produce electricity at night, which of course solar panels cannot.
I have another suggestion: If you stick a reflective tape to the kite, then a flashlight would illuminate it enough for the camera to see it at night.
Instead of gears, is a capstan drive better for sand wearing plastic? (Like a belt but rope so no teeth)
Legend
A. Outstanding, B. Good Luck at Open Sauce, C. I'm a Harry Proa fan too, now for the (D.) gratuitous comments - love Grin Technologies BUT have you considered PCB printed axial flux motors/generators? Lighter weight more efficient and perhaps more suitable for your design and enabler for part reduction eg planetary drive etc.
hi, Im an electrical engineer at blue heart energy. I have experience with fabricating pcbs and want to help you out. (also a big fan of your project)
Mike that is great! Thanks for your interest. I've been doing this long enough to realize that I don't realize what I don't know! I'd like to ask some questions about the best way to prototype the electronics, like should I stick with premade motor controllers and use Arduino to interface with those motor controllers.. or start from scratch or somewhere in between.. def shoot me an email when you find the time, Christian.Harrell.OKELLC@gmail.com
Next phase: sendcutsend & pcbway practical sponsorships
Great advice! I didn't know about sendcutsend! Good looking out!
Would much rather use this than a mast sail plus generate energy to feed back into solar batteries while providing propulsion, very innovative.
You said WHAT it does but I didn't see HOW it worked. Did I miss something? How does it generate power?
Oh we have tons of videos, check out the website
www.oceankiteenergy.com/points-of-sail-can-i-sail-upwind
One of the problems with making the entire thing out of plastic is certainly that the wear you're seeing is already finely broken-down microplastics emitted in the environment.
You're totally right.. I think the plastic will be best for parts that don't experience wear.. like the coverings.. basically anything that is not a gear.. we can also electroplate it to make it more UV resistant
How about without the power generation
The power generation is the goal, but like with cars we start with a manual transmission, then we get automatic transmission, then we get cars with regen braking... and ultimately a self driving car.. I'm looking for larger partners and I want to be clear on the practical steps that are necessary to get to the self driving.. but right now, we've definitely on manual car level.. with a little automatic transmission with the electric motors..
I've seen one of your previous videos and was quite impressed.
However it doesn't seem like you have advanced since then. Playing with recycled materials holds no value to an end user. Honestly, commercially, we don't care!
The difference your kite machine will make to the world of disposable everything is less than one millionth of one percent, why you would waste time and money on that I have no idea.
We need to know that it works, it's strong and reliable and the real benefits of owning one either in extra distance per gallon/Litre of fuel or extra speed/distance under sail. Also the Regen possibilities need to be explained in a lot more detail and in a user friendly way, as it is now it seems you're using the word Regen like many marine engine manufacturers, as a marketing ploy but in reality absolutely of zero value.
So if you're serious about making a commercial product, then get serious! If you're just playing around with a toy that interests you then enjoy your play time.
Personally I'm disappointed by this video compared to your previous.
How soon do you think you can have a working option. I have a 52ft steel motor yacht in the UK , looking to bring it to Canada soon . Can you contact me if your interested in providing for a major test and presentation. Regards Ian
So there are a couple of different models, manual, automatic, and autonomous.
You'll be able to upgrade the manual to automatic and autonomous.. I think depending on partnerships we can get the manual done by late summer/early fall.
Right now I am working on the gimbal mount