Increasing the energy efficiency of an autonomous solar hydrographer boat

This manuscript discusses the design and construction of an active sun-tracker for an unmanned surface vehicle (USV). 'Morvarid' is a robot boat built for automatic hydrography in ports. First, some pre-fabrication simulations were performed before construction to determine desired benefits of the solar tracker. Then, for evaluation of the solar tracker performance, operational tests were performed after manufacturing. The results of the field experiments were significantly close to the simulations and differed only 0.1%, indicating the optimal performance of the solar tracker. Finally, it was essential to ensure continuous and efficient energy production, which requires accurate and effective sun-tracking even during boat navigation and hydrographic operations. Practical studies show that with the help of this proposed solar tracker, almost the same amount of energy will be generated whether the boat is stationary or moving, allowing high-efficiency electrical energy to persistent storage in the USV battery.