Introduction
An international company specialising in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) required a transportable control centre for a new application: the remote operation of vehicles used for harbour and coastal surveillance. While the client had in-house engineering resources, these were fully committed to ongoing AUV product developments.
BVM was commissioned to design, manufacture, and certify a control centre solution suitable for marine environments. After consultation, an industrial PC integrated with an HMI within a Pelicase enclosure was selected to provide both portability and a robust, rugged platform capable of withstanding challenging operational conditions.
The Challenge
The client’s requirements presented multiple technical challenges:
- High-Performance HMI: Drive an 18.5” TFT LCD with projective capacitive touchscreen, delivering clear visibility in high-brightness daylight conditions, both on land and aboard fast RIB vessels.
- Marine Environment Durability: Protection against salt, moisture, and water exposure in hostile marine environments.
- Custom Connectivity: Support multiple customer-specified interfaces, including HDMI output for secondary display integration, all via waterproof connectors.
- Power and Cooling: Support AC and DC power inputs and ensure effective thermal management while maintaining enclosure integrity.
- Ingress Protection: Achieve IP67-rated protection while allowing for adequate heat dissipation.
- Certification Requirements: Compliance with IP67 and EN 60529 standards.
Delivery of the first prototype was required in a relatively short timescale (10 -12 weeks).
The Design
The transportable control centre was built into a custom-machined Pelicase, optimised internally for all components while maintaining ruggedness and portability. Key design elements included:
- 18.5” High-Brightness TFT Display: Full HD 1920 × 1080 resolution, 1,000 Nit LED backlight, projective capacitive touchscreen for sunlight readability and wide viewing angles.
- Computing Engine: 3.5” SBC with Intel i7-8665UE CPU, mounted directly on a custom copper and aluminium heatsink to manage thermal output efficiently.
- Memory & Storage: 16GB SODIMM PC2666 DDR4 wide-temperature memory and 1TB mSATA3 SSD (MLC) with power and data guard for secure storage.
- Embedded Power Supply: 150W 12V DC unit designed for reliable operation under varying field conditions.
- Custom Cooling Solution: Heatsink fins exposed through the base of the Pelicase for optimal heat dissipation.
- Connectivity: Network and fibre interfaces, plus all client-specified connections, engineered for waterproof and dust-proof operation.
- Operating System: Bespoke Windows 10 IoT image optimised for reliable, mission-critical performance.
Additional design considerations included:
- Sealed Aluminium Bezel: Display and connectors were mounted in a water-tight bezel, maintaining IP67 integrity when the Pelicase lid was opened.
- Embedded EMC Protection: SBC enclosed in an aluminium housing to ensure electromagnetic compatibility while directly mounted to the heatsink.
- Minimal Penetrations: All necessary fittings penetrating the Pelicase structure were fully sealed against water and dust ingress.
The Result
The production-ready transportable control centre successfully:
- Achieved IP67 and EN 60529 certification, meeting all environmental and ingress protection standards.
- Passed conducted and radiated emissions and susceptibility testing for regulatory compliance.
- Delivered excellent sunlight readability with high-brightness display and wide viewing angles.
- Operated reliably across a temperature range of -20°C to +50°C, verified through extensive thermal chamber testing.
- Incorporated all client-specified external connectivity, including HDMI output and waterproof I/O, providing a rugged, fully operational solution for coastal and harbour surveillance.
The result is a highly portable, rugged control centre capable of delivering reliable performance in demanding maritime environments, combining industrial computing power, advanced thermal management, and fully waterproof design.
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BVM supply a wide and diverse range of Industrial and Embedded Systems. From Industrial Motherboards, SBCs and Box PCs, to Rack Mount computers and Industrial Panel PCs. Our supporting team have all worked in industrial and embedded environments for a number of years, consequently providing knowledge, experience and good advice around all BVM’s products & services when and where you need it. We don’t profess to know everything you need at the time – but we’ll always help in the first instance and get back to you when a little more information is required.
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