Metamarine RTK Demonstrates World First Precision Marine Autopilot

[ROBOT]

Waterloo, Canada — December 7, 2021 — A large crowd at the 2020 Pan American Waterski Championships in Chapala Mexico cheered the debut of a precision autopilot system by Metamarine RTK. International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) President Antonio Perez was excited and eager to be the first skier to try the new system. The demonstration tow boat was operated by Alvaro Lamadrid, tournament organizer and host at Boca Laguna. The pair made a number of passes through the course, with Lamadrid holding his hands high and even standing up to demonstrate the boat was steering hands-free. Afterwards, Perez commented, “it felt very smooth and natural”.

 

Driven by Precision

The autopilot system used a high accuracy RTK (real-time kinematic) GPS receiver to provide 2.5cm precision to the steering system. “The advantage of RTK,” said Larry Prong, CEO, “is not just in the accuracy, but the ability to repeatedly perform at that high level of precision, pass after pass.” The skier benefits by getting the same consistent pull, regardless of who is sitting in the driver’s seat. In competition, the repeatability of passes adds another degree of fairness and impartiality to the event. In the training environment it allows the boat driver, often the coach, to focus almost entirely on the skier.

 

Product Development

Metamarine RTK forecasts the first release of their product in Q3 of 2022. The company plans to implement an advisory committee representing a cross-section of the sport: judges, drivers, coaches and skiers. “What we heard at the Pan Am’s”, said Prong, “is both excitement and caution about the technology. This will redefine the sport, just as speed control did over 20 years ago. It only makes sense that the participants be part of the development process”. To stay abreast of Metamarine RTK developments join their newsletter at www.metamarine.ca.

 

The Company

Founded in 2020, Metamarine RTK is a world leader in RTK autopilot systems for the recreational marine market. A tech-integration company offering innovations to waterskiing, they partner with industry leaders in GPS, autopilot and power boat technology. Metamarine RTK offers the ultimate ski boat modification - a precision high-speed autopilot.

 

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The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

 

For more information, press only:

 

Larry Prong, CEO

Metamarine RTK

+1 226-747-6566

larry.prong@metamarine.ca

 

 

For more information on Metamarine RTK:

www.metamarine.ca

[The_MS]

So no more MVR checks now?

[ForrestGump]

For a bit of background on RTK GPS technology, you can go here.

 

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/what-is-gps-rtk/all

[VONMAN]

So how many thousands of dollars does that puppy cost? And is it for throttle by wire and throttle by cable? Will it have one setting for tracking or multiple settings?

[JackQ]

Not sure the sport can survive another increased cost on top of the myriad of new mandates. Maybe for the Pro Events if the system proves to be effective. But what starts as optional will become mandatory.

[Jody_Seal]

 

[lpskier]

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

 

No, I haven’t tried it, but I’m exited to!

[Horton]

it is the future.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Any of you old timers remember how long it took from the introduction of the first "speed control" to get something reasonable? 10 years give or take. Then how much bitching and moaning due to ZO being significantly harder to ski behind than PP for heavier skiers?

 

Just my guess, but getting the feedback control loop for an auto steering system will be an order of magnitude (that's 10 times harder for Horton) more difficult to get something basically "acceptable" for mid level skiers. Then to get something acceptable to the elite level? Not in my lifetime.

[Jody_Seal]

How does that song go. About to try some schetchy shit! Do Da! Do Da!

And the driver stood up!!!! Thats an example of safe operation of a craft for sure!

[Jody_Seal]

Has catastrophic failure testing been performed and documented verified ?

No manufacturer is going to touch autonomous steering in a boat!!! Liability issues they are!

[Stevie Boy]

The Liability Risk is going to be Significant ! unless you program it with some sort of predictive code for wind/water conditions, in my mind it is always going to be Reactive, which means the skiers is going to get pulled all over the place.

The only reason you get fairly smooth airline flights is because the radar and other parameters on aircraft predict what is going to happen and is already moving the flying control surfaces to compensate for it , before it happens, how are you going to do that on a boat.

[MichaelWiebe]

GPS auto-steer has been employed in agriculture for many years. Once you have it, you never go back. It is so much easier, and so much more efficient. The job of operating the tractor becomes much more enjoyable. And the rows or lines in the field are perfectly straight.

The operator is still present of course, to ensure all is ok, to make the turns, for emergencies, etc.

I realize the waterskiing speeds are much higher, but I look forward to operating the ski boat while technology not only takes care of the speed but also steering perfectly straight through the course. In fact, I can't wait.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

There is a world of difference between simply making something go in a straight line and being able to anticipate and compensate for an Adam Caldwell onside turn at 41 off. It probably can be done, but will take a butt-load of complicated math and even more trial and error.

 

As I said - not in my lifetime.

[ral]

I do not believe the system is intended to have a driverless boat, as speed control does not replace the pilot either. It will allow more consistent pulls, especially when a top 5% driver is not available.

[2Valve]

Can I be intoxicated, sitting in the Captain's seat and tell the officer that the boat's on Auto-Pilot? Just sayin......

[jjackkrash]

@2Valve, you can do that but its a good way to secure a ticket to the grey-bar motel.

[fu_man]

Now drivers through the course will blend in with stand-up-as-you-drive I/O Wallys.

[jpwhit]

Can this be retrofitted to existing boats? Knowing what must be involved, I would tend to think this would have to be built into new boats.

 

I would expect the liability to be handled much like Tesla self- driving. The system would include checks to ensure not only is there a driver, but the driver is paying attention. This is part of why I'm thinking this wouldn't be added on to existing boats.

 

I don't really use the self-driving in my Tesla, not because I don't trust it, but because I feel like the effort to keep alertness checks happy is more work than driving. But I do appreciate the safety aspects of the self driving systems observing and keeping you out of an accident. I've had it truly save my bacon once from what would have been a serious accident.

 

But for tournament skiing, where this really would level the playing field, it seems pretty much inevitable. I expect it'll end up being very similar to the ZO adoption in the tournament world.

[RAWSki]

We already rely on GPS to control our speed and monitor our boat path for record tolerance . It's not a stretch for the boat to take over driving control at the pre-gates and turn it back over at the exit gates. The driver still has to keep some light pressure on the wheel just like several cars do today. A manual throttle adjustment or extreme steering deviation simply shuts down auto drive.

[liquid d]

You can keep that POS.

[lpskier]

@liquid D Even if I’m driving?

[darinmontgomery]

Auto-steer will definitely be in the not too distant future. I believe it will be implemented more quickly than we think.

 

The technology has been used for years in other industries with precision beyond what is required for waterskiing. I know a laser based system was developed 20 yrs ago that didn’t receive funding for implementation.

 

Sure-Path is collecting hundreds of thousands of slalom pulls currently. It has data on all of the top drives pulling all of the top skiers on the planet. It will it be easy to create the algorithm from this data to match the best driving and specific skiing style. I’ll go so far as to say we will pick our ZO and Auto-steer settings.

 

Synchronizing the speed control with boat path is the ultimate combination that will take performances to the next level.

 

I’m fortunate to have been one of the early adopters of Sure-Path. I know what the majority of slalom skiers think they want the boat path to be versus what they ski better with are not the same. I’d also bet most top level skiers would prefer a straight boat path than a random or weave.

 

Slalom is simply a rhythm of speed and path for every line length. Once we are successful at mastering the rhythm of a line length it becomes easy regardless if it is 15-off or 41-off. Auto-steer together with ZO creates a repeatable constant for the skier to match the rhythm.

 

For us slalom skiers the question is, can 43 be run? I believe auto-steer will make it much more likely and shorten by a decade or more.

[liquid d]

Maybe , but talk about a fun sponge! I like driving! haha...

[ETskier]

Here we go again. USAWS will push to get this thing going asap. Took me 6 years to get a ZO boat so practice is similar to tournament. This will obsolete our boats again, freezing more people out of tournament skiing. I realize it is the future, not for me.

[BS74]

I think you may see some drivers lose interest in getting behind the wheel. I remember a few Senior drivers quitting when cruise control started.

I enjoy driving as much as I do skiing .What would be the need for Senior/regular ratings? I think technology is great, but there can be a downside.

[jjackkrash]

@BS74, it does seem like it will take most of the fun out of driving. I think it will be great for the skiers but will make seat time grueling. Unless the boat has a kick a$$ stereo.

[EFW]

But will I still have to use premium gas?

[BraceMaker]

@jpwhit I think a retrofit would be abundantly easy. Most of our boats have a steering cable. An inline actuator capable of ~1-2 inches of linear movement would allow the driver to still grossly control the boat and would true up the boat path. Ideally you would drive relatively normally into the course and the auto pilot would come on and off. Or in open water you could have a "mode" that would just help keep the boat going straighter to avoid the old snake wake. If that servo has relatively minor movement it wouldn't pose any safety threat as the full throw of the wheel would still control the rudder.

 

I disagree with @jjackkrash there is a whole category of ski boat drivers who are perfectly fine pulling someone up getting pointed into the course and getting the boat to speed that then have trouble going through the course centered up and controlling for a skier. Ideally you'd have a mode that when engaged the wheel mechanism became a bit stiffer to avoid too much driver input.

 

I don't think anyone with ZO is now going oh this tool stinks I'm going to turn it off and hand throttle. And I think similarly 5 years after this is introduced there is just going to be a larger pool of drivers capable of competently driving.

[lpskier]

Do you attach the kill switch lanyard to the autosteer device?

[jpwhit]

@BraceMaker it really depends on the details of what they do to limit liability concerns. For example, the sensing that Tesla uses to make sure they can detect a driver's hand on the steering column, would have to be in the steering column. Tesla is also moving towards a cockpit camera now along with very sophisticated computer vision technology that requires quite a bit of computing power. That computing capacity must be implemented in a safety critical certified manor.

 

While a linear actuator will move the cable, it gets a little more complicated to make sure the driver can "overpower" the actuator in an emergency. That also may put more stresses on the existing cable and other assemblies that they can't reasonably handle.

 

I'm not saying it isn't possible, almost anything is possible at some level of expense, I'm very interested to see if it plays out as feature of new boats, or as a retrofit system, or both. That's also will be interesting from a liability perspective. If it's a feature of the boat, then who to hold accountable for liability is fairly clear. If a user installed a retrofit, seems like liability would get pretty complicated.

[jpwhit]

@darinmontgomery I think you bring up an interesting point.

 

Whether skier prefer the feel of the pull over status quo today may not be as important as the benefits of consistency. And what people tend to prefer is often what they are accustomed too.

[The_MS]

Before I go thumbs up or down, how much will it cost?

[EFW]

@The_MS Money? Anybody that can afford a new Nautique doesn't have to worry about how much it'll cost. This gets more ridiculous every year. I can barely afford a new ski.

[DW]

Will usher in a wave of 20 somethings that can be on their phones while pulling a skier, what could possibly go wrong?

 

I just want to know if a tubing mode is standard?

[BraceMaker]

@jpwhit I mean tell that to perfect pass right? Aftermarket device controlling the speed of your boat, retrofitted. No driver detection.

[UWSkier]

So what are we going to use for correction factors in this system? ZO already took ABC123+. Assuredly, this thing is going to require something similar so it doesn't jerk the boat violently back on path after a pitted 41 2 ball... unless getting jerked violently is your thing. Maybe S or Z for the correction style and 1-3 for the intensity.

 

"Yeah, driver, give me a B3+ S2 and make sure the microtuners are working"

 

Whoever's making these decisions needs to be banished from the sport for attempting to kill it...

[Wish]

Simple boats, simple attitudes in simpler times. What made the sport exciting WAS the diversity in conditions, sites, equipment, drivers, boats (inboards and outboards used). Yes things change and often for the better when it comes to technology but rendering so much of the sport obsolete this fast is basically telling the skier that we are obsolete.

[klindy]

Let’s remember that much of the technology is only required for record level tournaments. For class C the requirements are much lower and the use of the tech is optional. So in the vast majority of the cases, it’s someone’s choice to use it.

 

@UWSkier, the technology is being developed by a private third party person/company. I’m not aware of any initiative that is driving this. So you don’t need to “banish” anyone for trying to kill the sport, just don’t buy the product.

[ktm300]

@darinmontgomery "I know what the majority of slalom skiers think they want the boat path to be versus what they ski better with are not the same." Expound please?

[Stevie Boy]

[BraceMaker]

@Stevie Boy good illustration of why boats... should have GPS steering? So we agree they are currently dangerous?

 

 

[klindy]

@BraceMaker that’s correct. With GPS

Steering and ZO you could program the system to default to neutral unless manually controlled anywhere on the lake except (for example) between the green buoys within 6” of the centerline of the course.

[Kevin89MC]

Interesting technology. I'm sure there will be many growing pains like there were (are) with PP and ZO. Would I want to go back to hand throttle driving? No way. Have I or my drivers mowed down the occasional boat guide with bad steering? Yep. As I'm just a novice skier with an old boat, I'll likely never get a pull with this. Heck, the only time I see ZO is once every few years at a tournament. But for the pros/high level skiers, I could see the advantages.

One question: what happens during a breeze that moves the entire course (or maybe only part of it) around by several inches? We've held lots of tournaments at our site where the wind changes throughout the day, and the course certainly moves around. Will there need to be some kind of sensor in the boat guides? But then a small bounce back wave could cause issues. I'm sure people smarter than me will get these things figured out.

[Killer]

I have met Larry and skied the boat he tested it in (but not yet activated) this fall (2014 200).

 

He's in the AG business and it's derived from his working with GPS controlled farm equipment. It works and it's pretty cool, but will require more development AFAIK to be totally accurate but that was as of September. It's clearly the future and a way to take the high end of the sport to the masses.

 

From the site: "Grabbing the steering wheel will instantly dis-engage the system, putting you back in control."

 

I'll hopefully get to test it this spring. I know Jose has been out many times to take a look here in Ontario and obviously they were testing it in Mexico.

 

Onward

[ETskier]

Memories are short. 2007-08, ZO optional but recommended for L and R tournaments. 2009-10, ZO required for class C and above, instantly obsoleting my awesome 1994 Nautique with PP. Like I said above, here we go again. There won't be a retrofit. ECMs on 10 year old boats are already becoming obsolete. We're screwed.

[Jody_Seal]

@ETskier no manufacturer will touch this or install it in their very limited production of "tournament" boats. Liability on this is off the chart.

 

Funny some of you keep saying been in the farm industry for years! Tractors commonly plow between 3 and 6 mph.... on land with a predictable set of mechanical parameters.

Boat at 36 mph??? Not going to happen .

 

 

[B_S]

I'm just wondering if they are having any name regret now with the whole FB Meta thing!

Also, such a system should require hands ON the wheel, not off.

[slow]

I will happen and it’s a good thing. Heck we still have open bow ski boats

[BraceMaker]

@stxskier except for sure path is pretty popular and it has a plotted AB line.