Remotely controlled Vehicles over Starlink.
What if you want to control a vehicle that’s hundreds of kilometers away, or even on the other side of the planet? Cellular is an option, but is obviously limited by available infrastructure — good luck getting a cell signal in the middle of the ocean.
https://youtu.be/Fjy1hcLf2_M
#diy #remotely #controlled #science #sea #vehicles #starlink #mini #receiver #it #engineer #media #maker #programming #tech #space #news![Modern remote control (RC) radios are capable of incredible range, but they’re still only made for line-of-sight use. But what if you could beam your commands down from space?
That’s what [Thingify] was looking to test when they put together an experimental RC boat using a Starlink Mini for communications. Physically, there was no question it would work on the boat. After all, it was small, light and power-efficient enough.
The downside? Starlink is a fairly expensive proposition; you’d need to have a pretty specific mission in mind to justify the cost. The Mini receiver currently costs $599 USD (though it occasionally goes on sale), and you’ll need at least a $50 per month plan to go with it. While this puts it out of the price range for recreational RC, [Thingify] notes that it’s not a bad deal if you’re looking to explore uncharted territory.](https://friendica-leipzig.de/photo/preview/600/697102 "Modern remote control (RC) radios are capable of incredible range, but they’re still only made for line-of-sight use. But what if you could beam your commands down from space?
That’s what [Thingify] was looking to test when they put together an experimental RC boat using a Starlink Mini for communications. Physically, there was no question it would work on the boat. After all, it was small, light and power-efficient enough.
The downside? Starlink is a fairly expensive proposition; you’d need to have a pretty specific mission in mind to justify the cost. The Mini receiver currently costs $599 USD (though it occasionally goes on sale), and you’ll need at least a $50 per month plan to go with it. While this puts it out of the price range for recreational RC, [Thingify] notes that it’s not a bad deal if you’re looking to explore uncharted territory.")
![[ImageSource: Thingify]
But would the network connection be up to the task of controlling the vehicle in real-time?
During early ground testing, the Mini version of the Starlink receiver worked very well. Despite being roughly 1/4 the size of its predecessor, the smaller unit met or exceeded its performance during benchmarks on bandwidth, latency and signal strength. As expected, it also drew far less power: the Mini’s power consumption peaked at around 33 watts, compared to the monstrous 180 W for the larger receiver.
On the water, there was even more good news. The bandwidth was more than enough to run a high-resolution video feedback to the command center. At the same time, the boat moved autonomously between waypoints, and when [Thingify] switched over to manual control, the latency was low enough not to be a problem. “We wouldn’t recommend manually piloting a high-speed aircraft over Starlink, but for a boat that’s cruising along at 4 km/h, the lag didn’t even come into play.”](https://friendica-leipzig.de/photo/preview/600/697104 "[ImageSource: Thingify]
But would the network connection be up to the task of controlling the vehicle in real-time?
During early ground testing, the Mini version of the Starlink receiver worked very well. Despite being roughly 1/4 the size of its predecessor, the smaller unit met or exceeded its performance during benchmarks on bandwidth, latency and signal strength. As expected, it also drew far less power: the Mini’s power consumption peaked at around 33 watts, compared to the monstrous 180 W for the larger receiver.
On the water, there was even more good news. The bandwidth was more than enough to run a high-resolution video feedback to the command center. At the same time, the boat moved autonomously between waypoints, and when [Thingify] switched over to manual control, the latency was low enough not to be a problem. “We wouldn’t recommend manually piloting a high-speed aircraft over Starlink, but for a boat that’s cruising along at 4 km/h, the lag didn’t even come into play.”")
What if you want to control a vehicle that’s hundreds of kilometers away, or even on the other side of the planet? Cellular is an option, but is obviously limited by available infrastructure — good luck getting a cell signal in the middle of the ocean.
https://youtu.be/Fjy1hcLf2_M
#diy #remotely #controlled #science #sea #vehicles #starlink #mini #receiver #it #engineer #media #maker #programming #tech #space #news
![Modern remote control (RC) radios are capable of incredible range, but they’re still only made for line-of-sight use. But what if you could beam your commands down from space?
That’s what [Thingify] was looking to test when they put together an experimental RC boat using a Starlink Mini for communications. Physically, there was no question it would work on the boat. After all, it was small, light and power-efficient enough.
The downside? Starlink is a fairly expensive proposition; you’d need to have a pretty specific mission in mind to justify the cost. The Mini receiver currently costs $599 USD (though it occasionally goes on sale), and you’ll need at least a $50 per month plan to go with it. While this puts it out of the price range for recreational RC, [Thingify] notes that it’s not a bad deal if you’re looking to explore uncharted territory.](https://nerdculture.de/system/media_attachments/files/114/092/809/711/140/631/original/9e4cb0f46f9a54c5.jpeg "Modern remote control (RC) radios are capable of incredible range, but they’re still only made for line-of-sight use. But what if you could beam your commands down from space?
That’s what [Thingify] was looking to test when they put together an experimental RC boat using a Starlink Mini for communications. Physically, there was no question it would work on the boat. After all, it was small, light and power-efficient enough.
The downside? Starlink is a fairly expensive proposition; you’d need to have a pretty specific mission in mind to justify the cost. The Mini receiver currently costs $599 USD (though it occasionally goes on sale), and you’ll need at least a $50 per month plan to go with it. While this puts it out of the price range for recreational RC, [Thingify] notes that it’s not a bad deal if you’re looking to explore uncharted territory.")
![[ImageSource: Thingify]
But would the network connection be up to the task of controlling the vehicle in real-time?
During early ground testing, the Mini version of the Starlink receiver worked very well. Despite being roughly 1/4 the size of its predecessor, the smaller unit met or exceeded its performance during benchmarks on bandwidth, latency and signal strength. As expected, it also drew far less power: the Mini’s power consumption peaked at around 33 watts, compared to the monstrous 180 W for the larger receiver.
On the water, there was even more good news. The bandwidth was more than enough to run a high-resolution video feedback to the command center. At the same time, the boat moved autonomously between waypoints, and when [Thingify] switched over to manual control, the latency was low enough not to be a problem. “We wouldn’t recommend manually piloting a high-speed aircraft over Starlink, but for a boat that’s cruising along at 4 km/h, the lag didn’t even come into play.”](https://nerdculture.de/system/media_attachments/files/114/092/811/040/659/614/original/c92e0ce273ebda10.png "[ImageSource: Thingify]
But would the network connection be up to the task of controlling the vehicle in real-time?
During early ground testing, the Mini version of the Starlink receiver worked very well. Despite being roughly 1/4 the size of its predecessor, the smaller unit met or exceeded its performance during benchmarks on bandwidth, latency and signal strength. As expected, it also drew far less power: the Mini’s power consumption peaked at around 33 watts, compared to the monstrous 180 W for the larger receiver.
On the water, there was even more good news. The bandwidth was more than enough to run a high-resolution video feedback to the command center. At the same time, the boat moved autonomously between waypoints, and when [Thingify] switched over to manual control, the latency was low enough not to be a problem. “We wouldn’t recommend manually piloting a high-speed aircraft over Starlink, but for a boat that’s cruising along at 4 km/h, the lag didn’t even come into play.”")
