Portable motorized propulsion system for a watercraft
An apparatus, a method, and a system for controlling and propelling a watercraft. The apparatus has a set of motors and a fin-shaped hollow structure attached to the water-facing surface of the watercraft, a wireless controller to receive input commands from a user and transmit the input commands to a microprocessor to control the set of motors based on input commands. The input commands correspond to a speed and a direction. The microprocessor can adjust a thrust force of the set of motors based on the input commands to propel the watercraft in a selected direction at a selected speed.
1 . An apparatus for propelling a watercraft, comprising:
a set of motors attached to a bottom surface of a watercraft, wherein the bottom surface is a water-facing surface, and wherein the set of motors comprises a left motor and a right motor;
a controller, in communication with a microprocessor, having a user interface and a display for receiving input commands from a user for controlling the set of motors, and displaying location information of the user; and
a structure adapted to be attached to the set of motors and the bottom surface of the watercraft using a fastening mechanism or a locking mechanism, wherein the fastening mechanism or the locking mechanism is a center flip-lock mechanism or a sliding lock mechanism, and wherein the structure is waterproof and encloses:
a microprocessor communicatively coupled to the controller to control the set of motors based on the input commands;
a battery management system to monitor battery status, battery temperature and send an alert to the controller when the battery status is below a pre-defined threshold.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the watercraft is at least one of a surfboard, a paddleboard, a floating structure with two flat surfaces.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the structure is saltwater-resistant.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each motor of the set of motors is a differential motor having a bi-directional propellor.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a mechanism for opening the structure to replace or recharge the battery when the alert is received on the controller.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a battery, operatively coupled to the set of motors, for providing electric power to the set of motors.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is at least one of a wireless computing device, a wireless remote, and a mobile phone having an application to control the watercraft.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller communicates with the microprocessor using a Bluetooth module.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further configured to turn off automatically when the microprocessor is not in range of the controller.