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 News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/1719243/robot-boat-sails-into-history-by-finishing-atlantic-crossing
8 o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada
11 An anonymous reader writes: For the first time an autonomous
12 sailing robot has completed the Microtransat Challenge by
13 crossing the Atlantic from Newfoundland, Canada to Ireland.
14 The Microtransat has been running since 2010 and has seen 23
15 previous entries all fail to make it across. The successful
16 boat, SB Met was built by the Norwegian company Offshore
17 Sensing AS and is only 2 metres (6.5 ft) long. It completed
18 the crossing on August 26th, 79 days and 5000 km (3100 miles)
19 of sailing after departing Newfoundland on June 7th. Further
20 reading: A Fleet of Sailing Robots Sets Out To Quantify the
26 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,
31 You're a landlubber, I take it?
32 The Atlantic waves are quite an obstacle for a 2m boat.
33 Even drifting tar (and garbage) is a problem when you're that
37 ** Re: (Score:3, Funny)
41 It is not that easy. If you just start sailing in a straight
42 line, you will end up many kilometers above the sea, which is
43 no good for a sail boat. If instead you point the boat
44 straight at the finish line, you'll be under water for most
45 of the trip. Again, not ideal for a sail boat. The earth is
48 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult
50 (by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ))
53 I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER !
54 I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in lizard
58 (by gnick ( 1211984 ))
61 Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat
62 earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1
69 > Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat
70 > earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1
72 You are saying that as if it is a problem to hit C,
73 like it would be impossible to continue after 354
74 days. This is not the case. As long as you only care
75 about your own point of view and you're the one
76 being accelerated, you can reach as many times C as
77 you want (well, have fuel for).
80 (by gnick ( 1211984 ))
83 You also have to decide what "at rest" means. A
84 year accelerating at g will put you at your
90 (by lokedhs ( 672255 ))
93 Would a flat earther believe in relativity
94 though? If simple geometry eludes them,
95 what would they do when being faced with a
96 Lorentz transformation?
107 > I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER!
108 > I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in
109 > lizard people either.
110 The earth is not flat - that's just silly. When we ent
111 to the moon, and we did go to the moon, we discovered
112 the terrifying truth. The MOON is flat!
117 ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,
122 > There really aren't a lot of obstacles to deal with. Just
123 > point the boat and go.
124 I imagine that's true, if you have an effectively unlimited
125 energy, but the terms of this contest is to build a vehicle
126 less than eight feet long that can cross the Atlantic.
127 That's not a lot of room to stuff with batteries or diesel
128 fuel, or to cover with solar panels. And that's the whole
129 point. If you could make the vehicle a hundred feet long,
130 this challenge would be expensive, but easy. By making the
131 boat tiny, you make the challenge affordable, but tough.
132 The race has two divisions, sail powered and unlimited, but
133 it's hard to see what they had in mind for propulsion by
134 having an unlimited division. Possibly some
135 seawater-replenished fuel cell.
139 ** Bottles with corks have traversed the Atlantic (Score:2)
140 (by aberglas ( 991072 ))
143 Being small means relative high strength. A solid two
144 meter boat should indestructible by waves. No need to
145 keep a human alive, nor to go very fast. A very basic,
146 fixed, small but strong sail would do.
147 Ice bergs could be a problem. Surely better to start
148 further south. Longer but safer. Also need to stay out
150 I think this could be done without a computer. Just a
151 magnetic compass controlling a rudder. Occasionally it
152 would be blown backwards but no big deal. No need to
159 (by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ))
162 No concrete barriers in the ocean?
165 (by zlives ( 2009072 ))
171 ** A small achievement... (Score:2)
172 (by Bearhouse ( 1034238 ))
175 Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?
176 Single-handed (human) record is 3 1/2 days...
177 [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
182 [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_sailing_record
184 ** Re:A small achievement... (Score:4, Informative)
185 (by careysub ( 976506 ))
188 This is a 2 meter vessel, not a large racing hull built to be
189 fast (and nothing but fast). Using the page you link to, the
190 most useful comparison would be the single-handed records,
191 and the one from 1987 which was about 11.5 days was in a 26
192 meter hull! And this is the smallest vessel on the list. You
193 are probably not going to get a 2 meter vessel to tear along
194 at an average speed of 7.5 m/sec which would be needed for
195 that 11.5 day crossing.
198 (by Solandri ( 704621 ))
201 There have been a few sailboats in the 2 meter size range
202 which have made the transatlantic crossing.
204 Hugo Vihlen aboard April Fool (1.8m) in 84 days in 1968,
205 though technically he never finished since he was picked
206 up by the USCG 6 miles offshore.
207 Tom MacNally aboard the Vera Hugh (1.64m) in 134 days in
209 Hugo Vihlen again aboard the Father's Day (1.62m) in 115
211 Tom MacNally unsuccessfully attempted the trip again
212 aboard a 1.19m craft in 1998. He passed away last year.
213 [1]Site with picture [microcruising.com]
218 [1] http://www.microcruising.com/famoussmallboats.htm
223 (by careysub ( 976506 ))
226 Also note that the world speed record for a radio-controlled
227 sailing vessel (which was also 2 meters long) is [1]157.65 km
228 in 23 hours 42 min [guinnessworldrecords.com] in the milder
229 waters of the Mediterranean. At that world record speed in a
230 small RC boat this challenge would have taken 32 days.
231 So 79 days in a boat not controlled by a human, and not
232 limited to a 24 hour period, in the open waters of the
233 Atlantic is not so shabby. The speed made good over that
234 whole journey is 40% of that 24 hour record.
240 http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-di-
241 stance-by-radio-controlled-model-sailing-ship-in-24-hours-(rc)
245 (by arth1 ( 260657 ))
248 > Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?
249 The Mayflower took 66 days to cross, and was much bigger.
255 (by zlives ( 2009072 ))
258 shipping containers are more profitable.
261 ** And now the jokes begin... (Score:1)
262 (by Jharish ( 101858 ))
266 https://www.theonion.com/i-rowboat-1819583491
269 (by starless ( 60879 ))
272 Followed later by Cory Doctorow
273 [1]http://bestsciencefictionstori... [bestscienc...tories.com]
279 http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2009/03/29/i-row-boat-by-
283 ** Description wrong? Not autonomous? (Score:5, Informative)
284 (by starless ( 60879 ))
287 > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot...
288 From the linked article:
289 [1]https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a... [apnews.com]
290 > The Sailbuoy competed in the “unmanned” class, which allows
291 > operators to change its course along the way. There’s a separate
292 > “autonomous” class that prohibits any such communication.
298 [1] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada
300 ** So you crossed the sea, Columbot (Score:1)
301 (by DulcetTone ( 601692 ))
304 Don't forget that indigenous robots have rights, too.