MIPS Project Detail:

Maritime Applied Physics Corp.

Aero-Hydrodynamics of Hydrofoil Hulls

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Company

Maritime Applied Physics Corp.

Baltimore

Baltimore City

County

, Maryland

Founded:

1986

Website:

https://www.mapcorp.com/

Company Description:

Maritime Applied Physics Corporation (MAPC) has a 30-year history of designing and building advanced technology systems for both commercial and government sponsors. What began as an engineering services company in the 1980’s has evolved into a research, engineering, and manufacturing company that conceives and builds technology-rich systems. MAPC has a combination of engineering and heavy fabrication capabilities that enable the company to design, prototype and produce innovative systems.

MAPC has specific experience with the design of electronic systems for advanced vehicles, including ground robots, hydrofoils, passenger vessel motion reduction systems, rudder and autopilot systems, watercraft launch and recovery systems, shipboard machinery systems, and unmanned aircraft launch and recovery systems. The company has an excellent capability to perform the dynamic simulations of control problems and design and implement digital controls for these systems. MAPC has built and supplied inertial navigation systems and robotic control systems on land, air and sea vehicles. The company has built electric vehicles for a major car company.

MIPS Project

Aero-Hydrodynamics of Hydrofoil Hulls

Project #

3516

|

MIPS Round

35 |

Starting Date:

Feb 2005

MIPS Project Challenge:
MAPC’s MIPS project was to design an aerodynamic hydrofoil hull in conjunction with Jewel Barlow, Director of UMD’s Glenn L. Martin Wind Tunnel.

Project Scope:
Wind Tunnel researchers worked with MAPC to test and improve the design of the company’s ferry hull.

The MIPS work at the University of Maryland allows MAPC to offer passenger hydrofoils that have a 15 percent lower fuel consumption than those of our competitors. Since fuel costs are the highest cost element in fast ferry operations, this is a very important benefit. The MIPS process gave our company access to Wind Tunnel facilities and aerodynamic expertise that we could not otherwise afford.

Mark Rice, President, Maritime Applied Physics Corp.

Results:

The MIPS project in 2005 has spurred three additional projects: a blown-wing seaplane for DARPA, a Seaplane-Wing, In-Ground Effect vehicle, and a family of new water taxis for Baltimore. In August, 2016, Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Ventures contracted with MAPC to both design and build ten new water taxis for Baltimore’s harbor. The 55-foot, ADA-compliant, bike-friendly vessel is modeled on the classic Chesapeake Bay deadrise work boat that has been built for crabbers and oystermen for the last 200 years. The entire new fleet features WiFi, onboard media, and GPS tracking.