As the sailwing is free-rotating, I had to build a crazy concept where there is no electrical connection between the sailwing and the hull. A cable could easily overtwist and break. Waterproof rotary connectors have a high friction and unknown life span. All the power needed for the actuator comes from the small solar panels mounted on the sailwing. The actuator is controlled wirelessly by commands transmitted from inside the hull.
All the PCBs are waterproofed with a heatshrink and silicone, so accidental water leakage into the sailwing won’t cause any issues. Before the real mission, I will waterproof the batteries and fill the empty space with bubble wrap.
There are two 6.6V/1100mAh batteries connected in series that are charged by the solar panels. The total current consumption is only 9.5mA. If the actuator adjusts the flap 3-4 times per hour, it will add 1mA to the average consumption. The batteries can provide enough power for 4-5 days without any sunlight if the controller is constantly listening for commands. During a long series of cloudy days, the controller will enter power-saving mode which will increase the response time.
The controller processes the data from the radio receiver, checks for any errors, controls the actuator position and transmits a response which may include the battery state, solar power, etc. The radio link uses a low-level protocol to eliminate connectivity issues. The main controller inside the hull will repeatedly transmit commands until it receives the response from the sailwing.
In theory, carbon fiber blocks radio signals, but I have tested the controller inside the sailwing and it works.
About the hardware watchdog:
From my experience, a dedicated low-power microcontroller that resets the main controller can solve more potential issues than just a built-in watchdog timer.
