MiniJi

Joystick controls for Miniji at "Nautic 2013" in Paris
This small keelboat 3.65 m from ACB in Saint-Pol-de-Leon, which belongs to the association Handivoile Brest, was exhibited at the Paris "Nautic 2013" tradeshow at the Finistère boat builders booth. It is equipped with joystick controls for the rudder, the sails and the inclining seat.

Each year, the Miniji class regroups during the French national championship about 70 boats. Half of the participants have disabilities.

Technical realization
The boat has also been used for robotic sailing and as radio controlled model. The open CAN bus architecture  makes it very flexible allowing the addition of sensors (wind, GPS, attitude, compass) and other elements like a RC receiver. The CANinterfacer microprocessor cards are Arduino compatible, one can use the IDE, allowing easy adaptation to complex situations.

Bernard Prouveur created the prototypes for the sail winches and the steering system. Electronics and other mechanical parts were made in the Brest fablab, called TyFab. Kevin Bruget worked during his ENSTA Bretagne diploma thesis on the protocol used on the CAN bus (robotics work group: Benoît Clément, Olivier Reynet).

Contact
For more information, please contact [mailto:bernt.weber@splashelec.com Bernt Weber] ([mailto:bernt.weber@splashelec.com bernt.weber@splashelec.com]).