1 ROBOT BOAT SAILS INTO HISTORY BY FINISHING ATLANTIC CROSSING
4 Thursday September 06, 2018 @11:30PM (msmash)
5 from the impressive-feat dept.
7 o Reference: 0102637868
8 o News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/1719243/robot-boat-sails-into-history-by-finishing-atlantic-crossing
9 o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada
12 An anonymous reader writes:
14 > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot has completed
15 the [1]Microtransat Challenge by [2]crossing the Atlantic from
16 Newfoundland, Canada to Ireland . The Microtransat has been
17 running since 2010 and has seen 23 previous entries all fail
18 to make it across. The successful boat, [3]SB Met was built by
19 the Norwegian company [4]Offshore Sensing AS and is only 2
20 metres (6.5 ft) long. It completed the crossing on August
21 26th, 79 days and 5000 km (3100 miles) of sailing after
22 departing Newfoundland on June 7th.
24 Further reading: [5]A Fleet of Sailing Robots Sets Out To
29 [1] https://www.microtransat.org/
31 [2] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada
33 [3] https://www.microtransat.org/2018_sailbuoy_boat.php
35 [4] http://sailbuoy.no/
37 [5] https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/05/16/228245/a-fleet-
38 of-sailing-robots-sets-out-to-quantify-the-oceans
43 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,
48 You're a landlubber, I take it?
49 The Atlantic waves are quite an obstacle for a 2m boat.
50 Even drifting tar (and garbage) is a problem when you're that
54 ** Re: (Score:3, Funny)
58 It is not that easy. If you just start sailing in a straight
59 line, you will end up many kilometers above the sea, which is
60 no good for a sail boat. If instead you point the boat
61 straight at the finish line, you'll be under water for most
62 of the trip. Again, not ideal for a sail boat. The earth is
65 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult
67 (by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ))
70 I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER !
71 I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in lizard
75 (by gnick ( 1211984 ))
78 Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat
79 earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1
86 > Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat
87 > earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1
89 You are saying that as if it is a problem to hit C,
90 like it would be impossible to continue after 354
91 days. This is not the case. As long as you only care
92 about your own point of view and you're the one
93 being accelerated, you can reach as many times C as
94 you want (well, have fuel for).
97 (by gnick ( 1211984 ))
100 You also have to decide what "at rest" means. A
101 year accelerating at g will put you at your
102 current velocity + c.
107 (by lokedhs ( 672255 ))
110 Would a flat earther believe in relativity
111 though? If simple geometry eludes them,
112 what would they do when being faced with a
113 Lorentz transformation?
124 > I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER!
125 > I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in
126 > lizard people either.
127 The earth is not flat - that's just silly. When we ent
128 to the moon, and we did go to the moon, we discovered
129 the terrifying truth. The MOON is flat!
134 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,
139 > There really aren't a lot of obstacles to deal with. Just
140 > point the boat and go.
141 I imagine that's true, if you have an effectively unlimited
142 energy, but the terms of this contest is to build a vehicle
143 less than eight feet long that can cross the Atlantic.
144 That's not a lot of room to stuff with batteries or diesel
145 fuel, or to cover with solar panels. And that's the whole
146 point. If you could make the vehicle a hundred feet long,
147 this challenge would be expensive, but easy. By making the
148 boat tiny, you make the challenge affordable, but tough.
149 The race has two divisions, sail powered and unlimited, but
150 it's hard to see what they had in mind for propulsion by
151 having an unlimited division. Possibly some
152 seawater-replenished fuel cell.
156 ** Bottles with corks have traversed the Atlantic (Score:2)
157 (by aberglas ( 991072 ))
160 Being small means relative high strength. A solid two
161 meter boat should indestructible by waves. No need to
162 keep a human alive, nor to go very fast. A very basic,
163 fixed, small but strong sail would do.
164 Ice bergs could be a problem. Surely better to start
165 further south. Longer but safer. Also need to stay out
167 I think this could be done without a computer. Just a
168 magnetic compass controlling a rudder. Occasionally it
169 would be blown backwards but no big deal. No need to
176 (by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ))
179 No concrete barriers in the ocean?
182 (by zlives ( 2009072 ))
188 ** A small achievement... (Score:2)
189 (by Bearhouse ( 1034238 ))
192 Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?
193 Single-handed (human) record is 3 1/2 days...
194 [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
199 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_sailing_record
201 ** Re:A small achievement... (Score:4, Informative)
202 (by careysub ( 976506 ))
205 This is a 2 meter vessel, not a large racing hull built to be
206 fast (and nothing but fast). Using the page you link to, the
207 most useful comparison would be the single-handed records,
208 and the one from 1987 which was about 11.5 days was in a 26
209 meter hull! And this is the smallest vessel on the list. You
210 are probably not going to get a 2 meter vessel to tear along
211 at an average speed of 7.5 m/sec which would be needed for
212 that 11.5 day crossing.
215 (by Solandri ( 704621 ))
218 There have been a few sailboats in the 2 meter size range
219 which have made the transatlantic crossing.
221 Hugo Vihlen aboard April Fool (1.8m) in 84 days in 1968,
222 though technically he never finished since he was picked
223 up by the USCG 6 miles offshore.
224 Tom MacNally aboard the Vera Hugh (1.64m) in 134 days in
226 Hugo Vihlen again aboard the Father's Day (1.62m) in 115
228 Tom MacNally unsuccessfully attempted the trip again
229 aboard a 1.19m craft in 1998. He passed away last year.
230 [1]Site with picture [microcruising.com]
235 [1] http://www.microcruising.com/famoussmallboats.htm
240 (by careysub ( 976506 ))
243 Also note that the world speed record for a radio-controlled
244 sailing vessel (which was also 2 meters long) is [1]157.65 km
245 in 23 hours 42 min [guinnessworldrecords.com] in the milder
246 waters of the Mediterranean. At that world record speed in a
247 small RC boat this challenge would have taken 32 days.
248 So 79 days in a boat not controlled by a human, and not
249 limited to a 24 hour period, in the open waters of the
250 Atlantic is not so shabby. The speed made good over that
251 whole journey is 40% of that 24 hour record.
257 http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-di-
258 stance-by-radio-controlled-model-sailing-ship-in-24-hours-(rc)
262 (by arth1 ( 260657 ))
265 > Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?
266 The Mayflower took 66 days to cross, and was much bigger.
272 (by zlives ( 2009072 ))
275 shipping containers are more profitable.
278 ** And now the jokes begin... (Score:1)
279 (by Jharish ( 101858 ))
283 https://www.theonion.com/i-rowboat-1819583491
286 (by starless ( 60879 ))
289 Followed later by Cory Doctorow
290 [1]http://bestsciencefictionstori... [bestscienc...tories.com]
296 http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2009/03/29/i-row-boat-by-
300 ** Description wrong? Not autonomous? (Score:5, Informative)
301 (by starless ( 60879 ))
304 > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot...
305 From the linked article:
306 [1]https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a... [apnews.com]
307 > The Sailbuoy competed in the “unmanned” class, which allows
308 > operators to change its course along the way. There’s a separate
309 > “autonomous” class that prohibits any such communication.
315 [1] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada
317 ** So you crossed the sea, Columbot (Score:1)
318 (by DulcetTone ( 601692 ))
321 Don't forget that indigenous robots have rights, too.