Pan / Tilt
090° / 110°
Model SS‑1 · "Sentinel" · Mark I
The wharf
is defended.
An autonomous pan‑tilt deterrence turret that watches the mooring, locks onto anything that moves toward the boat, and persuades it to leave — before it ruins your gelcoat. The tūī stay in the bush. The shitehawks do not stay on the bow.
OPTICAL TRACK · CH‑00 · GRAYSCALE 320×240
LIVE
01
Threat assessment
The adversary is airborne, opportunistic, and completely without shame about where it perches.
HOSTILE
The shitehawk
Roosts on spreaders, biminis and bow rails. One committed gull can redecorate a foredeck in an afternoon.
FRIENDLY
The natives
Tūī, kererū and the rest hold station in the bush, well outside the engagement envelope. Non‑combatants. Never targeted.
COST OF INACTION
The clean‑up
Guano is acidic, sets like concrete, and eats gelcoat. The Sentinel trades a few servo sweeps for a lot of saltwater and scrubbing.
02
Datasheet
No cloud. No subscription. 0% AI — it tracks motion, not marketing.
Sensor
ESP32‑CAM · OV2640 · QVGA grayscale, 20×15 block motion grid
Fire control
Motion‑centroid tracking. Localised blob, confirmed across two frames. Rejects glitter, cloud and boat‑roll.
Actuators
2× Jaycar YM2760 standard servos — pan & tilt
Effector
Class 1/2 low‑power laser, pulsed. (Dad's cutting laser is not fitted. On purpose.)
Engagement envelope
Pan 55–125° · Tilt below horizon only
Power
Wharf 240 V → USB‑C 5 V / 3 A. Continuous watch, no battery anxiety.
Duty
~1 contact / 30 min. Idle otherwise. Runs 24/7.
Environment
IP‑rated enclosure, RCD‑protected supply, joins out of the spray.
03
Rules of engagement
The interlocks aren't a feature list — they're the reason this is allowed near a boat.
HOLD FIRE
Above the horizon
If the target is in the sky, the turret tracks but the laser stays dark. The beam physically cannot rise to horizontal — sky and aircraft are off‑limits by design.
CLEARED
On the boat
Below the horizon line — i.e. actually landing on the deck — the effector pulses and sweeps. That's also precisely when the mess happens.
PROTECTED
Native species
Friendlies in the bush sit outside the frame and the envelope. The system deters nuisance visitors to the vessel, nothing else.
FAIL‑SAFE
On any fault
Lost frame, no target, or power blip → laser off, servos park centre. Default state is dark and still.
04
Field report
"I didn't ask for a ray‑gun turret on my wharf. But the boat's clean and I'll admit it's pretty cool."
— Dad · sole customer · verified owner (n = 1)