Seastead Control & Security Software Proposal
Given your specific design—a 30,000 lb structure with high drag, differential thrust, and solar power—your software needs are distinct from a standard sailboat or motorboat. You need robust station-keeping and efficient power management.
1. Autopilot & Navigation (Differential Thrust)
You mentioned PyPilot, which is an excellent piece of open-source software. However, given your specific propulsion setup (two large submersible mixers), there are two primary paths to consider.
Option A: PyPilot (The Lightweight Approach)
Feasibility: PyPilot is designed primarily for sailboats controlling a rudder servo. To use it for your seastead, you would need to modify the motor controller output logic.
- Modification Required: You would need to write a custom driver that translates the "rudder angle" and "throttle" values from PyPilot into differential thrust commands (e.g., Left Motor = Throttle + Rudder, Right Motor = Throttle - Rudder).
- Pros: Very low power consumption (runs on Raspberry Pi), excellent web interface, and simple to understand.
- Cons: It lacks native support for "skid steering" or differential tank steering, requiring custom coding on your part.
Option B: ArduPilot (The Robust Approach - Recommended)
ArduPilot is the industry standard for autonomous vehicles. While often associated with drones, its Rover firmware is perfect for your application.
- Native Differential Thrust: ArduPilot has a built-in configuration for "Differential Steering" (Skid Steering). It handles the mixing of motors automatically without extra coding.
- Station Keeping: Since your structure has high drag and you are using solar, you will likely want to hold position without drifting. ArduPilot has advanced "Loiter" and "Smart RTL" (Return to Launch) functions designed specifically for holding a GPS position against wind and currents.
- Motor Safety: It includes "slew rate" limiting, which prevents your large 2.5m props from spinning up too fast and damaging the solar inverters or mechanical drive.
Recommendation: Use ArduPilot (Rover) running on a Pixhawk or Cube hardware controller. It requires less custom coding than PyPilot for your specific drive system and offers better safety features for a heavy structure.
2. User Interface / Chart Plotting
Regardless of whether you choose PyPilot or ArduPilot, you need a way to plan routes and view the charts.
OpenCPN
This is the premier open-source chart plotter software. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux (including Raspberry Pi).
- Integration: OpenCPN works seamlessly with ArduPilot. You can plan a route on the screen, and ArduPilot will execute the navigation.
- Weather: It can download GRIB files (weather data) via satellite or internet, which will be crucial for avoiding storms in your seastead.
- Cost: 100% Free and Open Source.
3. Security Camera Software (NVR)
For watching security cameras, you need Network Video Recorder (NVR) software. Open source options have advanced significantly in recent years.
Frigate NVR (Highly Recommended)
Frigate is an open-source NVR that uses AI (Artificial Intelligence) to detect objects. This is crucial for a seastead because you don't want an alert every time a wave splashes or a bird flies by.
- Object Detection: It can be configured to only alert you if it sees a person, boat, or ship, ignoring motion from water.
- Efficiency: It works well with low-power hardware like a Mini PC or Jetson Nano.
- Integration: It integrates beautifully with Home Assistant (see below).
ZoneMinder
A classic, robust option. If you prefer a more traditional security setup without AI dependencies, ZoneMinder is stable and handles a wide variety of camera brands. It is purely motion-based.
MotionEye
If you want something very simple that runs on a Raspberry Pi, MotionEye is the easiest to set up. It provides a simple web interface to view live feeds, though it lacks the advanced AI features of Frigate.
4. System Integration (The "Glue")
To tie your autopilot, cameras, and solar monitoring together into one dashboard, you should look at Home Assistant.
Home Assistant
- Open Source: Free and runs locally (no internet required after setup).
- Dashboards: You can create a tablet display in the living area that shows your GPS location, battery levels from your solar system, and live security camera feeds all on one screen.
- Automation: You can write scripts like: "If battery drops below 20%, disable autopilot motor and alert captain."
Summary of Recommended Stack
- Motor Control: ArduPilot Rover (running on Pixhawk hardware).
- Navigation Interface: OpenCPN (running on a laptop or RPi 4).
- Security Cameras: Frigate NVR (running via Docker).
- Master Dashboard: Home Assistant.
This combination provides a professional-grade, open-source, and fully offline-capable system suitable for life at sea.
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