Autonomous Starlink powered R/C boat - control from anywhere!

[@D3moknight]

This is giving RCTestFlight vibes.

[@scruunchy]

I always imagine I'm listening to Butthead (Beavis&Butthead) talking when watching RCTetflight

[@thirtythreeeyes8624]

I thought it was an RCTestFlight video when I first clicked on it haha.

[@amandahugankiss4110]

@@scruunchy now i will, too. thanks!

[@licencetoswill]

and that's a very good thing

[@ShrimplyAquascaping]

My exact thought

[@genericfpv2464]

Solar panels + a deployable anchor would be an incredible pairing

[@thingify-app]

Solar panels are definitely on the wishlist, and an anchor would be useful for multi-day trips along rivers. It could theoretically run 24/7 with Starlink Mini, solar panels, and the existing battery, but I wouldn't want to monitor the video feed for hazards all night 😅

[@charmio]

You'd want to be incredibly careful with your anchor choice. If it gets stuck, then it could mean the end of the vehicle, if it really does take advantage of the starling and go on distant voyages. Maybe having it so the anchor can be ditched if needed would be a good idea. Then it could just rely on GPS based station keeping, and keep the starlink off most of the time to save battery.

[@userunfriendly9304]

Or just an anchor that lets the current spin the props to charge the battery

[@qwer.ty.]

And a kite !

[@charmio]

@userunfriendly9304 It's an interesting idea! I actually did the math and posted it. Not sure why YT deleted it... that algorithms censorship is insanely oppressive these days!

[@That_Awesome_Guy1]

I've been following starlink since before they even launched a single satellite. I've been waiting for the day things like this would become possible. Fantastic video!

[@CarpeUniversum]

Same... Really eager to see if starlink pulls off their cell goal. Cause... then i could drive a sub with a floating solar panel and Bouey with signal receiver around the whole damn globe....you know.. in a perfect world.

[@Adam-Tech-2025]

Wow, great editing for your first video on the channel

[@thingify-app]

Thanks, that's very kind of you!

[@SleepyCod467]

not moving the chairs away from the table before starting the messiest part of the project is very relatable lmao

[@teddermachineworks]

Awesome! For v2 go with a Starlink mini. In motion, standard barrel plug, and low power consumption.

[@thingify-app]

Thanks! I recently got the Mini and it's looking very promising so far - another video to come on that soon!

[@onmyworkbench7000]

That's outstanding, Back in 2005 I built an Autopilot for an Autonomous Boat for the USGS. WOW I wish we would have had Starlink back then. Just about everything that we used we had to design and build our selves as there was very little off the shelf stuff to be had.

[@imgh]

This project looks incredible and the demo was awesome. It would be really cool to see more mission with the improvements you named. Keep up the great work!

[@jones-oterra]

I thought i was on an RC-Testflight Video at first. Great Video, definitely didn't expect this one to be your first. I'am happy being able to call myself you 91th subscriber Keep going!

[@djSpinege]

Same haha

[@Basty5095]

This is so cool. Finally someone from Adelaide too!

[@pete_dl1585]

very cool. A 360 camera and solar would make it awesome :)

[@deezynar]

What a fun idea! It would be great to have something like that. I suggest that you go to a single hull and mount the heavy stuff low inside of it as ballast. You want a single hull because it has the ability to right itself if capsized. Maybe see if you can find a used sea kayak that's sized for a kid. Get a used one and save money. A 360 degree camera would be great. It would give a better view for pleasure, but also let you see if any other boats, or ships are coming up behind you. Get the largest photovoltaic (solar) cell you can fit onto it so it will recharge during the day. Look into propulsion systems to find one that is as efficient as possible. But you also want it to be as resistant to fouling by seaweed as you can get.

[@amseinstitute2023]

Cool video, I've been considering the same application but using it to deploy and recover autonomous underwater vehicles in the ocean instead of renting boats for $$$$ a trip. We've already used Starlink mobile to remotely control an ROV 900m down off the coast of California from a chalet in the Italian Alps

[@norkshit]

This is so cool! Great work!

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

Swinging for the fence right from the start. Great video. I'm subbed. Can't wait to see more content.

[@ghostlmg6032]

love it! I have always thought of this sort of idea. cant wait to see more.

[@almosthuman4457]

I look forward to seeing your future projects. this was pretty cool.

[@bowieinc]

Amazing first video. Really enjoyed.

[@licencetoswill]

Legendary work, and can't wait to see improvements like the starlink mini. Would you want to drop the CofG lower down buy putting the box closer to the waterline. It looks top heavy now, a boat's wake could flip it. Then you would need an ip68 case like a peli case. Your asymetric hull design has quite low efficiency, it would be 10- 15% better if both sides were curved. Keep it up mate, this is excellent.

[@thingify-app]

You're right that the CG is pretty high - the Starlink Mini should help a lot with this, it takes about 6.5kg off the top of the boat. I'll take a look at the peli case - something more rugged like that would be good once I find a suitable external camera. Also that's interesting about the asymmetric hull, I wasn't aware of that! Something something wake vortices?

[@TNERA]

I was thinking the same thing about the CG and "cheap plastic tub"! :) I thought it was very BRAVE to put all of that nice new equipment in a plastic tub with out being water tight! But, hey, great to see the results, @thingify-app

[@licencetoswill]

@@thingify-app yes the hulls are generating quite a lot of lift in the outboard direction, which throws away propulsive energy. you want them symetric and sleek like torpedos or tear drops.

[@gazorbpazorbian]

this is amazing! I love it! keep it up!

[@DeanZylman]

this is a great idea awesome video 👍

[@DustyRayBaugher]

Damn i was looking at doing this same build. Was just going to use 2 matching kayak's as the hulls. Looking forward to this channel.

[@pete3897]

Let's ride this wave! :) (on so many levels) Thanks for starting a channel

[@daylight8296]

awesome project and incredible idea, I always had a feeling this was possible. Time to make a giant rc glider w/ starlink mini.

[@aL3891_]

dang what a way to start of a channel! excellent work

[@Mrwilder2012]

Great content. Looking forward to upgrades and exploring.

[@TerragonAI]

thats a really cool project 🙂

[@jimj2683]

This is what I have been waiting for! Maybe someone could make a quadcopter with starlink and solar panels. That way it could fly around the globe and explore. Would have to land very frequently to recharge for a few days though.

[@andrewhofmann5453]

Sub number ~195, great stuff! I would really rethink the hull design though.. :)

[@sarolovito2838]

Awesome video 🎉

[@SP-ny1fk]

Looking forward to the around the globe version!

[@Hai9730]

Realy nice video love this style of video. Looking forward to the next version. Maybe put a ptz camera on top something like reolink woild be awesome.

[@thingify-app]

I was thinking maybe an Insta360 camera or similar, but a Reolink might be easier to integrate with 🤔

[@Markus-r6g]

very nice quality

[@conorstewart2214]

The starlink hardware itself may only be $2,999 but it is also $250 per month.

[@thingify-app]

Yep exactly, this stings with the Flat High Performance. I tend to unpause near the end of the subscription month, then pause again before it renews to only pay the prorated amount. This means I only take the boat out a few days per month! It's much better with the Roam plan on the Mini though.

[@xMegaVideos]

Great video, good luck with the channel!

[@sammflynn6751]

earned my sub, waiting patiently for new vids, crazy stuff

[@JeffBilkins]

As you're in Australia with plenty of space you could do an Outback Exploration Rover for multi-day overland missions. Then we can all learn if red dust is worse on drones then water :D

[@MartianDill]

That's cool. Almost as cool as Magura V5

[@NILoaNtFaCkBa]

Great video!

[@sUASNews]

Nicely done, those dishes are in all sorts of things now. You need to bring that to the Ardupilot conference in Yorkshire next year.

[@thingify-app]

I'm not sure I'd trust it in checked luggage, might have to sail it over! 😅

[@deepfinds]

Cool video. Whilst you have a deep cycle battery already, you might as well add a solar charger too

[@ben_ands]

Very interesting Great video by the way

[@therealjamescobb]

Great first video!

[@danko6582]

Wow, with enough battery, that could sail from Columbia all the way to Spain.

[@NURKFPV]

I would love to know more about your connection using mavlink and the starlink. Ive been wanting to try something like this for awhile. Well done!

[@thingify-app]

I've just created a Discord to allow discussion of this (see the links on my channel). Please feel free to join to learn more!

[@Defianthuman]

People mod starlink devices to 12v(that's what they are internally and then they just use 12v barrel plugs to power it. EDIT: Didn't realize they started using a different power standard the original ones were 12v. Also, props on the DIY wire cutter. It's just a wire in a wooden hold connected to a VVPS.

[@thingify-app]

Thanks, yeah the hot wire cutter is pretty flimsy but does the job! The important part is the nichrome wire and a spring to tension it, because it gets slack as it heats up.

[@ShrimplyAquascaping]

This is an amazing video! you deserve a lot more subscribers!!

[@francescotravi6615]

Grate project! I suggest to improve the hydrodinamics of the hulls. They have to be simmetrical and more with the shape of a canoe. It also seams to be a little too submerged, you can add one more layer of XPS to solve this issue. I will love to see more of that in the future!

[@konrad7592]

A solar powered vessel conquering the Atlantic with under water 360 cameras in a live stream would become viral af. Would love to help design such a thing... 😉

[@thingify-app]

I believe this would qualify for the Microtransat Challenge which would be cool! It would be great to do some smaller crossings close to home - I'm thinking Bass Strait and then the Tasman Sea would be amazing.

[@konrad7592]

@@thingify-app I'm very curious about your future projects

[@TonyWhite_robodude]

Very cool! The Blue Robotics M200 and weedless propeller would be much more efficient - the nozzle on the T200 is slowing you down! Also, rather than a DIY penetration of the cable, the WetLink Penetrator is a cheap, 1000m rated alternative!!

[@TonyWhite_robodude]

Also, the starlink mini is radically smaller, and uses less than 40 watts, and can also be unlocked for full global maritime usage... search the blue robotics forums about mounting and using it!

[@TonyWhite_robodude]

Finally, Cockpit for BlueOS may be a more featured GCS than your home - brew version, although it is very cool!

[@gazorbpazorbian]

just imagine having this boat in the middle of the ocean with a camera under water tethered to a 5 meter cable and see what's in that depth, and have that all week there

[@irgendeinrandom90]

This is genious idea !

[@Neutronixyz]

Great job! I really admire what you've built. I'm currently working on a similar project, which is still a work in progress. You can see what I've built so far in the projects section of my LinkedIn profile, with the link available in the 'About' section of my KZbin channel. I plan to publish it once it's ready to launch, but I still need to purchase a Starlink antenna, which is quite expensive. For now, I'm using a small SIM router.

[@thingify-app]

This sounds interesting - please feel free to join the Discord server to discuss this more (see the channel description for a link)!

[@acinonyx6333]

The mini doesn't actually run on 12V, or 12.7V, but 14.5 seems to get it going. Mine averages 15-20W in in-motion use and is an all in one unit with a single barrel plug to power it. I use a cheap USB C adapter cable to power mine, which takes the hassle out of trying to give it a stable input voltage. That being said, starlink direct to 4G is supposed to be coming out sometime next year, last I heard

[@jimj2683]

Maybe you can be the first to record giant 60m rogue waves in the ocean.

[@blarvinius]

Might want to look into Stability/ Hydrostatics... This design will have high enough initial stability, but very low reserve stability. In other words, hard to tip, but it could float upside down! Then it can go over the horizon. ❤❤❤🌊🌊🌊

[@lukefive6238]

Subscriber #355 Looking forward to more videos!

[@karlkastor]

Would be interesting if with the future Starlink Direct to Cell you could do this, but 100% solar powered.

[@sock501]

Keep in mind that these LiFePO4 batteries need to be mounted (long term, so read as stored) in specific orientations. They wick their electrolyte from a reservoir, and you need to ensure that part of each wicking layer remains in the reservoir.

[@JeffBilkins]

Very cool. The obvious next step is to use it as a mothership and signal relay to launch and control airborne drones. The ping could be bad so they'll have to be semi autonomous also (oh no).

[@Dark_Angel_1.4]

nice for your 1st one 👍

[@member369240sx]

Interesting vid and concept. Boats and RC cars i have done most of my life. a thing that may help you is angling your thrusters to pitch the nose of the hulls up a bit. Even with the small chop. I could see you stuffing the nose in a wave and possible unsettling the boat a bit. or could add Chines on the hulls to give the nose some lift . looking for the missions

[@thingify-app]

Yeah, I think a more sophisticated hull design could help there, possibly using a CNC router to shape the foam. It should also sit higher in the water with the Starlink Mini due to weight savings. Lots of fun to be had improving this design!

[@devinholland2189]

Dishy is just poe you can get adapters online if you dont want to cut the cord.

[@superdoesthings]

great video, i feel your pain that the starlink mini dropped after you spent a lot of money on the normal starlink :( keep up the good videos though :D

[@adriansnow5087]

Great project! If you added a few 10s of kilos 'boom' cargo I'm certain you could foster a blossoming career with the Ukrainian navy. 👍🤣

[@murraymadness4674]

If you watch rctestflight, he has big issues with the props getting foiled by weeds. As a remote, you are done. An air power might be more reliable, with a sail.

[@thingify-app]

I was concerned about this, but haven't run into issues yet. It will be interesting to test it in different environments (not too far from shore)!

[@AngusBro]

Holy thats so cool!

[@ajinkya3.14]

Send it to Antarctica and back. In case you're looking for some thrilling adventure.

[@linuxuberuser]

also you could mount the battery lower to give your platform a better center of gravity in rough water and more realistic conditions - also if you replace the starlink with a solar panel - perhaps you could play the efficiency game - make a rig for a long rang - one way trip. You don't need sat-link other then for teh views.

[@theoldknowledge6778]

Amazing project, put some solar cells on it and make it bigger... Then you'll have infinity range

[@thingify-app]

That's the dream, then onto oceanic crossings!

[@ross123540]

Please do a star-link mini rebuild :)

[@aloooox]

You might be able to ditch the inverter and power the Starlink etc over 12v, they do make 12v POE injector switches, this would improve efficency.

[@levio1463]

look up a starlink POE injector. they make DC to DC adapters that allow you to power starlink with 12v+ DC

[@VIJAYzk]

Subscribed! Cool Project buddy. How convenient would it be if you could access Mission planner through Sat internet. is it possible? Imagine flying a long endurance mission on a fixed wing using this system. Sweet.

[@troubleMakesThree]

Converting to DC isn't complicated. You also save a lot of power by shortening the cable.

[@samuelgavin1710]

You should add Some solar panels to it next to increase battery range.

[@ItsNiki0]

For v2 connect a solar panel so it recharges the battery so u can go further and have bigger motors

[@HenryTriplette]

Amazing! I'm curious about the shape of the hull. It's for hydrodynamic stability?

[@glenfullagar3740]

Would this concept work when Starlink direct to cell services are fully available? A cheaper more simple setup with the same signal coverage (no phone tower dead zones) could be possible.

[@thingify-app]

It will be interesting to see how that performs as they roll out data in 2025. I suspect upload performance will be poor for an unmodified cell modem/antenna even if download is quite good, so it might be a while before we see it in this application.

[@elijahf111]

You should open up a fiver or Patreon benefit that lets buyers drive the boat around from their home (with your supervision ovcourse). I'd probably pay 5 bucks to try it once.

[@thingify-app]

This is a fun idea! I'd have to think of some interesting locations for this. It might also be more fun once I have a PTZ camera to allow some more interactivity, because the boat itself is quite slow and might be boring to control.

[@LLJW4]

This is pretty rad! Are you not worried about overheating inside the tub?

[@thingify-app]

I was worried about this, but it doesn't seem to be an issue after running it for 1-2 hours at a time. Might be different in summer though!

[@leflamantrosefpv1725]

next go to antartica!

[@biafra13743]

please can you show more details on how you built it?

[@xcissors]

Turns out people have made DC conversion kits for starlink

[@BryanKale777]

Awesome

[@vladislavdonchev1271]

Awesome! How's the cooling of the components inside the tub?

[@thingify-app]

Thanks! I haven't had any problems with cooling so far - I think the tub is big enough with enough surface area, and the power dissipated inside is fairly small.

[@xitro20xx]

subbed wondering where this will go.

[@altaccount648]

Did I miss something? But why Starlink? Why not a basic mobile data setup that doesn't weigh 3 kilos?

[@thingify-app]

The little boat with green hulls at the beginning of the video ran over mobile data, but I found coverage was too spotty in the places I wanted to use it. Especially for future missions where I want to cross lakes, rivers, and visit islands.

[@DyslexicEngineer]

Cool video! Is there any way to use your connection system? -- (How you get manual control via mavlink) I'm working on a team project with my school, and I need to do this : (Remotely control a Wifi conected quadcopter--> from another country). And I don't know how to do it. It's going to run Ardupilot with Pixhawk with a Pi like yours. Your system look pretty much what I need.

[@thingify-app]

Please feel free to join the Discord server (linked in the channel description) to discuss this more!

[@mindwarp4818]

Starlink mini might be a much better option.

[@tommyzhng]

Interesting project! Im curious as how you got the peer-to-peer connection since starlink IPv4 (and I assume your phone) is under CGNAT. From what I understand STUN doesn't work under symmetric or CGNATs since multiple devices are listed under one public IP. Does the interface go through a TURN server? Maybe WebRTC finds a link through IPv6 since I believe starlink supports that.

[@thingify-app]

Good question - I don't have TURN configured, so it is definitely peer-to-peer via STUN. My phone provider appears to support both IPv4 and IPv6, however this setup also works when my phone is connected to my home internet, which only supports IPv4. I've yet to run into a situation which needs TURN, even with different combinations of mobile providers, Starlink, and home NBN.

[@tommyzhng]

​@@thingify-app I see, thats interesting. Maybe home networking ipv4 is less restrictive since ports can be forwarded. By the way how is the latency for the peer to peer? I've been trying out tailscale with IPv6 but it is super slow and has weird latency issues. I'm trying to code a dynamic thing with wireguard for p2p but looking at your experience maybe webRTC would be better.

[@thingify-app]

From memory, it was around the low 10s of milliseconds. Easily low enough to control it manually without noticeable lag. I'm planning on open-sourcing the libraries/applications I wrote, which make it easy to setup an authenticated WebRTC connection between peers, including tunneling IP over WebRTC. Let me know if you'd be interested!

[@tommyzhng]

@@thingify-app if that's not too much of a hassle for you that would be awesome. either way thanks for the help

[@thingify-app]

Sorry for the delay on this - I've just set up a Discord server (see my channel description links) to allow discussion of this, where I can provide access to the code etc.

[@saqibsultantemuri2437]

add some solar panels and... next stop: Antarctica! No Joke, theoretically it should be possible.

[@WienerschnitzelFett]

Nice, keep this format please; no music just pure talk and we will love that

[@supershad9855]

Why not starlink mini? Cheaper, Smaller, Lighter lower power draw, and can be powered using PD

[@wingcommanderjetson5660]

Cool!

[@leflamantrosefpv1725]

but very nice software!! ;)

[@RobotWashingMachine]

weird question... why didnt ya move the chairs away from the table to make building things a bit easier? LOL

[@thingify-app]

My reasoning was they were keeping the plastic from flying up and touching stuff. Ngl, there may be a few orange spots on the chairs now 😅

[@francescoferletti4038]

can i ask you how you connected starlink with pixhawk for ardupilot? thx

[@ChadKovac]

Unbelievable that you can power a boat from a Starlink That's awesome

[@ChadKovac]

It's not getting its power from Starlink I see never mind

[@antb533]

In your setup, where an R/C boat is controlled via an app using WebRTC over a Starlink connection, with commands relayed through a base station using the NavLink protocol to the Pixhawk 6C running ArduPilot for processing and control, why use WebRTC instead of MAVLink or something else?

[@thingify-app]

Please join the Discord server (see the link in the channel description) if you would like to chat more about this!