Onboard sensors are capable of logging and monitoring an ever-growing number of variables defining the state of the boat with ever-growing accuracy. Yet, certain parameters, some as basic as ship displacement, still seem to escape digitalisation. This is why Hydroscope has created a unique data acquisition system which can accommodate data from onboard sensors when it is available, along with manual inputs to describe the configuration of the boat.
8
ships
468
configurations
299
parts
476
frames
It relies on the ship model which can be made infinitely detailed in order to log absolutely every single aspects of a ship’s configuration (if one wishes so) from the more important ones (displacement, mast settings, number of crew, stacking configuration, etc.) down to the more minute details (was the spinnaker dry, the hull clean or even whether you had your lucky charm with you that day). That way no stone is left unturned in the search for the factors impacting the ship’s performance.
parts #
A ship is made up of its different parts, which are all specified in the ship model. Some parts can be trimmed differently or in different states or positions in the boat at different times during a sailing session. Hydroscope adds the value of each of these parameters to your dataset.
trims #
Some parts have one or several trim variable associated to them. These can all be entered manually to specify their value at a given moment in the sailing session. Depending on the boat, these trim variables will usually include sail trim (sheet tensions, traveller cart position, sail tensions, depth position, twist, etc…) but also foil rake, mast settings, or even engine rpm, all of which help draw a clearer picture of the state the boat is in at any given point.
states #
Parts can have different states representing how the part is behaving, and how it interacts and operates with other parts. For instance an electronic device could be ‘on’ or ‘off’, a hull or appendages could be ‘clean’ or ‘fouled’ depending on when they were last serviced just as a sail can be ‘reefed’. The states can then modify the part’s specifications, it’s connections, it’s capacity or any combination of the above. This allows for a lot of flexibility in defining the state of ship through the state of its different components.
position #
The position of a part onboard a ship is also an important factor of performance. Hydroscope allows for parts to be ‘stacked’ individually or as a group through configurations, helping to define the weight distribution and inertia of the yacht, two important parameters acting on performance and dynamic motion of the yacht.
crew #
Crew members in Hydroscope are represented as any other parts, with their own mass, their own variables (weight of the equipment), their position on the boat (where they are placed physically). However, due to the sensitive nature of this data, and the GDPR regulations enforced in the EU, this data can only be tracked in certain conditions.
ship #
Another way to fill in data about the ship’s state is to act at a ship level to define how the boat is set up. This will then change the settings of the relevant parts automatically, allowing for quicker data logging and easier data analysis. Another benefit of this ship level view is to set up how different parts interact with one another.
configuration #
Configurations track how the ship is set up. The most important configuration is arguably the ‘sail configuration’ which defines which sails are in use at any given point. But configurations can also be used to set the ‘stacking’ of different parts, to configure the electronics of the yacht, appendage deployment, engine activation, etc… making the ship model tweakable at will.
operations #
Hydroscope can track the fluxes of matter and energy throughout the boat. This feature can be used to compute the amount of CO2 emitted during your sailing session or track the power draw of your electronic set-up for instance. It is however mostly used in estimating the remaining quantity of gasoil or fresh water halfway through an ocean crossing another important factor when computing the displacement of a yacht at a given point.
versioning #
Most prototype-class yachts are in constant evolution and keeping track of the changes and making sure the data only isn’t coming from two radically different development stages in the boat’s life is challenging. Fortunately, both parts and the ship itself can be versioned in Hydroscope. This means that the changes applied to different parts (a re-cut sail, repaired appendages, modified hull shape, a new mast, etc…) can all be logged, opening the way for before/after comparisons and A/B testing.
state of mind #
In addition to defining the state of the boat, Hydroscope can collect data about the sailor’s state. For instance, the intensity of boat trim can vary significantly over a single sailing session depending on whether you’re fighting to get an overlap or if you’re eating a sandwich between legs. Hydroscope has a place for that. Also, the mind strategic mindset aboard the boat can be logged, to debrief the day’s racing or simply to differentiate between your ‘high’ and ’low’ modes.