Unmanned boats have gained a lot of interest in the maritime community during the last decade. Most hydrodynamic platforms employed for unmanned boats are based on traditional relatively simple hulls. In the present study, small-scale hydrofoil-assisted unmanned boats (0.6-0.7 meter in length and 3.5-5.5 kg in mass) have been developed and tested. Design calculations using a hydrodynamic transverse-strip engineering method with semi-empirical correlations were applied to determine suitable dimensions for hydrofoil systems. The boat hulls and hydrofoils were fabricated by laying up carbon-fiber cloth sheets on foam cores or 3D printed profiles. The boats were instrumented with outboard propulsors and electronic equipment for operations in both remote control and autopilot modes. In addition, an in-situ thrust-measuring module was designed and installed at the hull sterns to gather thrust data at GPS-measured speeds in the range between 0 to 11 m/s. The developed boats proved to be robust platforms capable of going over 600 m distances at high speeds while autonomously following preset paths. The presented methods and results can assist engineers developing unmanned surface vehicles that utilize advanced hydrodynamic concepts.
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