World’s first optimal control simulation of a fully dynamic model of a foiling sailing boat

We are delighted to have spent that last two America’s cup cycles working with INEOS Team UK. In the best traditions of F1 we have been taking technology from the race track and applying it in other fields. One key aspect of our collocation simulations relative to other types is the fact that little or no expert knowledge of the system being controlled is baked-in to the algorithm itself. In the field of motorsport this means we can still optimally control a wide variety of different cars around a variety of different tracks.

However, we needn’t stop at minor tweaks to a car model when we talk of changes to the model; we can change the whole model to a model of something else and it will learn to drive/fly/sail that new system with equal alacrity!

The Canopy team has done exactly that with INEOS Team UK’s America’s Cup boat model, resulting in the world’s first, probably only, optimal control simulation of a fully dynamic model of a foiling sailing boat. This has proved extremely useful to the team not only for designing a type of boat that no-one has built before, but for teaching the sailors how to sail it.

The partnership with Canopy Simulations has given us big gains in the design process . . . we’ve quickly learnt how to sail the boat in the most efficient way – all whilst staying on dry land.

ITUK chief designer, Nick Holroyd

The 36th America’s Cup

INEOS TEAM UK are delighted to announce that they have been working with dynamic optimization experts Canopy Simulations for the 36th America’s Cup campaign.

The 35th America’s Cup

Working in The 35th America’s Cup, Canopy Simulations built a new boat model from the ground up, specifically for simulation via collocation. Repeatedly the simulation produced counterintuitive results which were later proven to be superior on the racecourse.