| 1 | ROBOT BOAT SAILS INTO HISTORY BY FINISHING ATLANTIC CROSSING \r |
| 2 | (APNEWS.COM) \r |
| 3 | \r |
| 4 | Thursday September 06, 2018 @11:30PM (msmash)\r |
| 5 | from the impressive-feat dept.\r |
| 6 | \r |
| 7 | o News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/1719243/robot-boat-sails-into-history-by-finishing-atlantic-crossing\r |
| 8 | o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada\r |
| 9 | \r |
| 10 | \r |
| 11 | An anonymous reader writes: For the first time an autonomous\r |
| 12 | sailing robot has completed the Microtransat Challenge by\r |
| 13 | crossing the Atlantic from Newfoundland, Canada to Ireland.\r |
| 14 | The Microtransat has been running since 2010 and has seen 23\r |
| 15 | previous entries all fail to make it across. The successful\r |
| 16 | boat, SB Met was built by the Norwegian company Offshore\r |
| 17 | Sensing AS and is only 2 metres (6.5 ft) long. It completed\r |
| 18 | the crossing on August 26th, 79 days and 5000 km (3100 miles)\r |
| 19 | of sailing after departing Newfoundland on June 7th. Further\r |
| 20 | reading: A Fleet of Sailing Robots Sets Out To Quantify the\r |
| 21 | Oceans.\r |
| 22 | \r |
| 23 | \r |
| 24 | ** \r |
| 25 | \r |
| 26 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,\r |
| 27 | Informative)\r |
| 28 | (by arth1 ( 260657 ))\r |
| 29 | \r |
| 30 | \r |
| 31 | You're a landlubber, I take it?\r |
| 32 | The Atlantic waves are quite an obstacle for a 2m boat.\r |
| 33 | Even drifting tar (and garbage) is a problem when you're that\r |
| 34 | small.\r |
| 35 | \r |
| 36 | \r |
| 37 | ** Re: (Score:3, Funny)\r |
| 38 | (by Anonymous Coward)\r |
| 39 | \r |
| 40 | \r |
| 41 | It is not that easy. If you just start sailing in a straight\r |
| 42 | line, you will end up many kilometers above the sea, which is\r |
| 43 | no good for a sail boat. If instead you point the boat\r |
| 44 | straight at the finish line, you'll be under water for most\r |
| 45 | of the trip. Again, not ideal for a sail boat. The earth is\r |
| 46 | not flat, you know.\r |
| 47 | \r |
| 48 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult\r |
| 49 | (Score:4, Funny)\r |
| 50 | (by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ))\r |
| 51 | \r |
| 52 | \r |
| 53 | I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER !\r |
| 54 | I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in lizard\r |
| 55 | people either.\r |
| 56 | \r |
| 57 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 58 | (by gnick ( 1211984 ))\r |
| 59 | \r |
| 60 | \r |
| 61 | Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat\r |
| 62 | earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1\r |
| 63 | year (~354 days).\r |
| 64 | \r |
| 65 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 66 | (by amorsen ( 7485 ))\r |
| 67 | \r |
| 68 | \r |
| 69 | > Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat\r |
| 70 | > earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1\r |
| 71 | > year (~354 days).\r |
| 72 | You are saying that as if it is a problem to hit C,\r |
| 73 | like it would be impossible to continue after 354\r |
| 74 | days. This is not the case. As long as you only care\r |
| 75 | about your own point of view and you're the one\r |
| 76 | being accelerated, you can reach as many times C as\r |
| 77 | you want (well, have fuel for).\r |
| 78 | \r |
| 79 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 80 | (by gnick ( 1211984 ))\r |
| 81 | \r |
| 82 | \r |
| 83 | You also have to decide what "at rest" means. A\r |
| 84 | year accelerating at g will put you at your\r |
| 85 | current velocity + c.\r |
| 86 | \r |
| 87 | ** \r |
| 88 | \r |
| 89 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 90 | (by lokedhs ( 672255 ))\r |
| 91 | \r |
| 92 | \r |
| 93 | Would a flat earther believe in relativity\r |
| 94 | though? If simple geometry eludes them,\r |
| 95 | what would they do when being faced with a\r |
| 96 | Lorentz transformation?\r |
| 97 | \r |
| 98 | \r |
| 99 | \r |
| 100 | \r |
| 101 | \r |
| 102 | \r |
| 103 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 104 | (by lgw ( 121541 ))\r |
| 105 | \r |
| 106 | \r |
| 107 | > I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER!\r |
| 108 | > I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in\r |
| 109 | > lizard people either.\r |
| 110 | The earth is not flat - that's just silly. When we ent\r |
| 111 | to the moon, and we did go to the moon, we discovered\r |
| 112 | the terrifying truth. The MOON is flat!\r |
| 113 | \r |
| 114 | \r |
| 115 | \r |
| 116 | \r |
| 117 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,\r |
| 118 | Insightful)\r |
| 119 | (by hey! ( 33014 ))\r |
| 120 | \r |
| 121 | \r |
| 122 | > There really aren't a lot of obstacles to deal with. Just\r |
| 123 | > point the boat and go.\r |
| 124 | I imagine that's true, if you have an effectively unlimited\r |
| 125 | energy, but the terms of this contest is to build a vehicle\r |
| 126 | less than eight feet long that can cross the Atlantic.\r |
| 127 | That's not a lot of room to stuff with batteries or diesel\r |
| 128 | fuel, or to cover with solar panels. And that's the whole\r |
| 129 | point. If you could make the vehicle a hundred feet long,\r |
| 130 | this challenge would be expensive, but easy. By making the\r |
| 131 | boat tiny, you make the challenge affordable, but tough.\r |
| 132 | The race has two divisions, sail powered and unlimited, but\r |
| 133 | it's hard to see what they had in mind for propulsion by\r |
| 134 | having an unlimited division. Possibly some\r |
| 135 | seawater-replenished fuel cell.\r |
| 136 | \r |
| 137 | ** \r |
| 138 | \r |
| 139 | ** Bottles with corks have traversed the Atlantic (Score:2)\r |
| 140 | (by aberglas ( 991072 ))\r |
| 141 | \r |
| 142 | \r |
| 143 | Being small means relative high strength. A solid two\r |
| 144 | meter boat should indestructible by waves. No need to\r |
| 145 | keep a human alive, nor to go very fast. A very basic,\r |
| 146 | fixed, small but strong sail would do.\r |
| 147 | Ice bergs could be a problem. Surely better to start\r |
| 148 | further south. Longer but safer. Also need to stay out\r |
| 149 | of shipping lanes.\r |
| 150 | I think this could be done without a computer. Just a\r |
| 151 | magnetic compass controlling a rudder. Occasionally it\r |
| 152 | would be blown backwards but no big deal. No need to\r |
| 153 | worry about po\r |
| 154 | \r |
| 155 | \r |
| 156 | \r |
| 157 | \r |
| 158 | ** KABLAM (Score:1)\r |
| 159 | (by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ))\r |
| 160 | \r |
| 161 | \r |
| 162 | No concrete barriers in the ocean?\r |
| 163 | \r |
| 164 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 165 | (by zlives ( 2009072 ))\r |
| 166 | \r |
| 167 | \r |
| 168 | or pedestrians\r |
| 169 | \r |
| 170 | \r |
| 171 | ** A small achievement... (Score:2)\r |
| 172 | (by Bearhouse ( 1034238 ))\r |
| 173 | \r |
| 174 | \r |
| 175 | Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?\r |
| 176 | Single-handed (human) record is 3 1/2 days...\r |
| 177 | [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]\r |
| 178 | \r |
| 179 | \r |
| 180 | \r |
| 181 | \r |
| 182 | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_sailing_record\r |
| 183 | \r |
| 184 | ** Re:A small achievement... (Score:4, Informative)\r |
| 185 | (by careysub ( 976506 ))\r |
| 186 | \r |
| 187 | \r |
| 188 | This is a 2 meter vessel, not a large racing hull built to be\r |
| 189 | fast (and nothing but fast). Using the page you link to, the\r |
| 190 | most useful comparison would be the single-handed records,\r |
| 191 | and the one from 1987 which was about 11.5 days was in a 26\r |
| 192 | meter hull! And this is the smallest vessel on the list. You\r |
| 193 | are probably not going to get a 2 meter vessel to tear along\r |
| 194 | at an average speed of 7.5 m/sec which would be needed for\r |
| 195 | that 11.5 day crossing.\r |
| 196 | \r |
| 197 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r |
| 198 | (by Solandri ( 704621 ))\r |
| 199 | \r |
| 200 | \r |
| 201 | There have been a few sailboats in the 2 meter size range\r |
| 202 | which have made the transatlantic crossing.\r |
| 203 | \r |
| 204 | Hugo Vihlen aboard April Fool (1.8m) in 84 days in 1968,\r |
| 205 | though technically he never finished since he was picked\r |
| 206 | up by the USCG 6 miles offshore.\r |
| 207 | Tom MacNally aboard the Vera Hugh (1.64m) in 134 days in\r |
| 208 | 1993.\r |
| 209 | Hugo Vihlen again aboard the Father's Day (1.62m) in 115\r |
| 210 | days in 1993.\r |
| 211 | Tom MacNally unsuccessfully attempted the trip again\r |
| 212 | aboard a 1.19m craft in 1998. He passed away last year.\r |
| 213 | [1]Site with picture [microcruising.com]\r |
| 214 | \r |
| 215 | \r |
| 216 | \r |
| 217 | \r |
| 218 | [1] http://www.microcruising.com/famoussmallboats.htm\r |
| 219 | \r |
| 220 | \r |
| 221 | \r |
| 222 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r |
| 223 | (by careysub ( 976506 ))\r |
| 224 | \r |
| 225 | \r |
| 226 | Also note that the world speed record for a radio-controlled\r |
| 227 | sailing vessel (which was also 2 meters long) is [1]157.65 km\r |
| 228 | in 23 hours 42 min [guinnessworldrecords.com] in the milder\r |
| 229 | waters of the Mediterranean. At that world record speed in a\r |
| 230 | small RC boat this challenge would have taken 32 days.\r |
| 231 | So 79 days in a boat not controlled by a human, and not\r |
| 232 | limited to a 24 hour period, in the open waters of the\r |
| 233 | Atlantic is not so shabby. The speed made good over that\r |
| 234 | whole journey is 40% of that 24 hour record.\r |
| 235 | \r |
| 236 | \r |
| 237 | \r |
| 238 | \r |
| 239 | [1]\r |
| 240 | http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-di-\r |
| 241 | stance-by-radio-controlled-model-sailing-ship-in-24-hours-(rc)\r |
| 242 | \r |
| 243 | \r |
| 244 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r |
| 245 | (by arth1 ( 260657 ))\r |
| 246 | \r |
| 247 | \r |
| 248 | > Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?\r |
| 249 | The Mayflower took 66 days to cross, and was much bigger.\r |
| 250 | \r |
| 251 | \r |
| 252 | ** \r |
| 253 | \r |
| 254 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 255 | (by zlives ( 2009072 ))\r |
| 256 | \r |
| 257 | \r |
| 258 | shipping containers are more profitable.\r |
| 259 | \r |
| 260 | \r |
| 261 | ** And now the jokes begin... (Score:1)\r |
| 262 | (by Jharish ( 101858 ))\r |
| 263 | \r |
| 264 | \r |
| 265 | ..."I rowboat".\r |
| 266 | https://www.theonion.com/i-rowboat-1819583491\r |
| 267 | \r |
| 268 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r |
| 269 | (by starless ( 60879 ))\r |
| 270 | \r |
| 271 | \r |
| 272 | Followed later by Cory Doctorow\r |
| 273 | [1]http://bestsciencefictionstori... [bestscienc...tories.com]\r |
| 274 | \r |
| 275 | \r |
| 276 | \r |
| 277 | \r |
| 278 | [1]\r |
| 279 | http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2009/03/29/i-row-boat-by-\r |
| 280 | cory-doctorow/\r |
| 281 | \r |
| 282 | \r |
| 283 | ** Description wrong? Not autonomous? (Score:5, Informative)\r |
| 284 | (by starless ( 60879 ))\r |
| 285 | \r |
| 286 | \r |
| 287 | > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot...\r |
| 288 | From the linked article:\r |
| 289 | [1]https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a... [apnews.com]\r |
| 290 | > The Sailbuoy competed in the “unmanned” class, which allows\r |
| 291 | > operators to change its course along the way. There’s a separate\r |
| 292 | > “autonomous” class that prohibits any such communication.\r |
| 293 | >> \r |
| 294 | \r |
| 295 | \r |
| 296 | \r |
| 297 | \r |
| 298 | [1] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada\r |
| 299 | \r |
| 300 | ** So you crossed the sea, Columbot (Score:1)\r |
| 301 | (by DulcetTone ( 601692 ))\r |
| 302 | \r |
| 303 | \r |
| 304 | Don't forget that indigenous robots have rights, too.\r |
| 305 | \r |
| 306 | \r |