Making of AyeAye® – hardware progress & prototype looks

In this news article we want to share some information about the current status of the AyeAye® prototype and what we can expect from the upcoming developments. Besides the design, we would like to elaborate on the materials used, types of connections, both external and internal, among other things.

One of the few pictures that has currently made the rounds online the most is the following:

Here we were able to give a small impression of at least the size and design of the AyeAye® boat computer. However, the photo is now somewhat outdated and by far not all the connectors were there already. So, time for an update!

The photo above shows the current status of the prototype, a lot more connectors have been added to allow for the proper connection of the amount of hardware, instruments, sensors, etc. The photo below shows the design on the front of the housing.

The print on the front is inspired by, among other things, a life buoy and a drop of water that makes contact with the surface of the water and thus spreads its rings. You can also think of a sonar signal that is reflected and gives a “blip” on the screen. The colour will change a little in the future.

The material of the housing is currently aluminium and we did this mainly because of the cooling of the internal parts. It was important to us that the system did not produce any noise, hence no moving parts / fans. In technical language, we needed passive cooling and not active cooling. Moving parts are subject to wear and tear and eventually the fan will make an annoying buzzing noise. In addition, the case must also be partly open and have contact with the outside air, and we want to avoid this as much as possible because of the moisture. This means that the modules that produce heat are connected to the housing via heatsinks, and in this way the housing also becomes a heatsink for the entire electronics.

But apart from the design, perhaps even more important is what you can do with it. One of the great features of the AyeAye® boat system is the number of connectors. And, if you want to support so many devices from different decades and brands, you have to!

Below you can see that we have placed all the connectors on the bottom of the housing:

The idea of placing them all on the bottom has to do with the fact that if moisture gets on the housing and runs down, it cannot run into a connector but along it. However, the housing and the connectors are still waterproof and have an IP6x label. The last digit (now the x) indicates the degree of protection (air humidity, splashing, strong flowing water, immersion, etc.). The choice will be finalized a.s.a.p. but we will make sure that the whole system including the connectors will be protected as good as possible against the conditions you may encounter on board a ship.

The internal pcb (printed circuit board) will be given a coating and the housing will be (partly) moulded in. This is not only to protect against moisture (and therefore short circuits) but also against vibrations and shocks. In addition, the screw connectors (if we use any) will be placed on custom-made rubbers, which will absorb extra shocks. Unused connectors will be provided with a watertight (screw) cap, so that the system will always remain closed. If a short-circuit does occur, the system is equipped with fuses that are “self-resolving”. If the “fault” is remedied, the fuse will reset itself automatically.

Apart from the positioning of the connectors, the type of connector is also very important. The type of connector that we have chosen for the AyeAye® boat computer are also used in the military and aerospace industries, for example. They are robust, but therefore also somewhat larger. On the other hand, this does mean that it is easier to connect.

In order to connect the large number of instruments found on board a ship, you need connectors, lots of connectors. Of course, this many connectors will never fit on a single housing, so we have thought of a solution for this.

The connectors are usually round and have many “wires”. They are connected to a connector which is attached to a cable assembly. At the end of this cable assembly, you will find all the actual connections, which in turn communicate / connect with all your instruments on the ship. We strive to actually deliver these connectors fully assembled to the wiring harness, so you can simply take a nmea or seatalk connector from a certain year and connect it. The wiring harnesses themselves currently come out on wires that can be stripped.

1. On the far left, two cables for both 12/24 V DC input voltage and two cables for 20 A autopilot output voltage.
2. Next to it, on the right, a similar type of connection with 4 cores for digital switching and 1 earth / minus connection.
3. Furthermore, an RJ45 LAN network connection for connecting or expanding a wired network.
4. In addition, 3x coaxial antenna connectors of type BNC for attaching AIS receiver, 4G LTE internet reception and external (active) GPS receiver. The final version will have an extra connection for WiFi, which is currently only an internal antenna. There is also an internal GPS receiver, the external connection is for real certainty of reception for example for a steel ship.
5. Next to the 3 coaxial antennas, you will find a USB connection, which is multi-purpose. You can choose for e.g. extra memory storage for your own water charts, the connection of keyboard and mouse, a USB dongle with power supply, or another maritime device that has a USB connection.
6. An HDMI connection for connecting a traditional display.
7. The two silver coloured connectors on the right contain the most wires of all connectors. Two cable trees are connected to these, to which all NMEA equipment and sensors are connected. DC power is also passed from the boat’s own battery so you can measure how much power they consume. But also rudder position sensors, temperature sensors can be connected. Also, some configuration can be applied (such as converting autopilot to hydraulic instead of tiller/helmstick) by connecting different cables in the boom, but we are working on a simpler solution which is to simply offer switches on the housing.

We are still working on the best way to mount the AyeAye® boat system on board. It has to be simple, but above all robust and solid. At the moment, it is still an enclosure with, to be honest, no small size. We want to be able to offer the system in such a way that it not only fits on larger ships with a large engine room, but also in the smaller ships in the smallest corners. There are a number of solutions for this that we have come up with and that we will also share during the Beta test.

There are still many more possible angles and depths to come up with to demonstrate the prototype even better, so to make that possible we are working on shooting 3D material. A 3D model that consists of actual pictures of the product. In this way you can fly around it and zoom in on every possible angle, so … stay tuned!