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299a08f3 NR |
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 | |
c715ea02 | 7 | o Reference: 0102637868\r |
299a08f3 NR |
8 | o News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/09/06/1719243/robot-boat-sails-into-history-by-finishing-atlantic-crossing\r |
9 | o Source link: https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada\r | |
10 | \r | |
11 | \r | |
e818d449 NR |
12 | An anonymous reader writes:\r |
13 | \r | |
14 | > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot has completed\r | |
15 | the [1]Microtransat Challenge by [2]crossing the Atlantic from\r | |
16 | Newfoundland, Canada to Ireland . The Microtransat has been\r | |
17 | running since 2010 and has seen 23 previous entries all fail\r | |
18 | to make it across. The successful boat, [3]SB Met was built by\r | |
19 | the Norwegian company [4]Offshore Sensing AS and is only 2\r | |
20 | metres (6.5 ft) long. It completed the crossing on August\r | |
21 | 26th, 79 days and 5000 km (3100 miles) of sailing after\r | |
22 | departing Newfoundland on June 7th.\r | |
23 | \r | |
24 | Further reading: [5]A Fleet of Sailing Robots Sets Out To\r | |
25 | Quantify the Oceans .\r | |
26 | \r | |
27 | \r | |
28 | \r | |
29 | [1] https://www.microtransat.org/\r | |
30 | \r | |
31 | [2] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada\r | |
32 | \r | |
33 | [3] https://www.microtransat.org/2018_sailbuoy_boat.php\r | |
34 | \r | |
35 | [4] http://sailbuoy.no/\r | |
36 | \r | |
37 | [5] https://science.slashdot.org/story/18/05/16/228245/a-fleet-\r | |
38 | of-sailing-robots-sets-out-to-quantify-the-oceans\r | |
299a08f3 NR |
39 | \r |
40 | \r | |
41 | ** \r | |
42 | \r | |
43 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,\r | |
44 | Informative)\r | |
45 | (by arth1 ( 260657 ))\r | |
46 | \r | |
47 | \r | |
48 | You're a landlubber, I take it?\r | |
49 | The Atlantic waves are quite an obstacle for a 2m boat.\r | |
50 | Even drifting tar (and garbage) is a problem when you're that\r | |
51 | small.\r | |
52 | \r | |
53 | \r | |
54 | ** Re: (Score:3, Funny)\r | |
55 | (by Anonymous Coward)\r | |
56 | \r | |
57 | \r | |
58 | It is not that easy. If you just start sailing in a straight\r | |
59 | line, you will end up many kilometers above the sea, which is\r | |
60 | no good for a sail boat. If instead you point the boat\r | |
61 | straight at the finish line, you'll be under water for most\r | |
62 | of the trip. Again, not ideal for a sail boat. The earth is\r | |
63 | not flat, you know.\r | |
64 | \r | |
65 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult\r | |
66 | (Score:4, Funny)\r | |
67 | (by Oswald McWeany ( 2428506 ))\r | |
68 | \r | |
69 | \r | |
70 | I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER !\r | |
71 | I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in lizard\r | |
72 | people either.\r | |
73 | \r | |
74 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
75 | (by gnick ( 1211984 ))\r | |
76 | \r | |
77 | \r | |
78 | Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat\r | |
79 | earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1\r | |
80 | year (~354 days).\r | |
81 | \r | |
82 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
83 | (by amorsen ( 7485 ))\r | |
84 | \r | |
85 | \r | |
86 | > Flat Earth statistic: If gravity is caused by a flat\r | |
87 | > earth accelerating at g, it'll reach c after about 1\r | |
88 | > year (~354 days).\r | |
89 | You are saying that as if it is a problem to hit C,\r | |
90 | like it would be impossible to continue after 354\r | |
91 | days. This is not the case. As long as you only care\r | |
92 | about your own point of view and you're the one\r | |
93 | being accelerated, you can reach as many times C as\r | |
94 | you want (well, have fuel for).\r | |
95 | \r | |
96 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
97 | (by gnick ( 1211984 ))\r | |
98 | \r | |
99 | \r | |
100 | You also have to decide what "at rest" means. A\r | |
101 | year accelerating at g will put you at your\r | |
102 | current velocity + c.\r | |
103 | \r | |
104 | ** \r | |
105 | \r | |
106 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
107 | (by lokedhs ( 672255 ))\r | |
108 | \r | |
109 | \r | |
110 | Would a flat earther believe in relativity\r | |
111 | though? If simple geometry eludes them,\r | |
112 | what would they do when being faced with a\r | |
113 | Lorentz transformation?\r | |
114 | \r | |
115 | \r | |
116 | \r | |
117 | \r | |
118 | \r | |
119 | \r | |
120 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
121 | (by lgw ( 121541 ))\r | |
122 | \r | |
123 | \r | |
124 | > I've found a FLAT EARTH DENIER!\r | |
125 | > I bet you vaccinate your kids and don't believe in\r | |
126 | > lizard people either.\r | |
127 | The earth is not flat - that's just silly. When we ent\r | |
128 | to the moon, and we did go to the moon, we discovered\r | |
129 | the terrifying truth. The MOON is flat!\r | |
130 | \r | |
131 | \r | |
132 | \r | |
133 | \r | |
134 | ** Re:Hard to understand why this would be difficult (Score:4,\r | |
135 | Insightful)\r | |
136 | (by hey! ( 33014 ))\r | |
137 | \r | |
138 | \r | |
139 | > There really aren't a lot of obstacles to deal with. Just\r | |
140 | > point the boat and go.\r | |
141 | I imagine that's true, if you have an effectively unlimited\r | |
142 | energy, but the terms of this contest is to build a vehicle\r | |
143 | less than eight feet long that can cross the Atlantic.\r | |
144 | That's not a lot of room to stuff with batteries or diesel\r | |
145 | fuel, or to cover with solar panels. And that's the whole\r | |
146 | point. If you could make the vehicle a hundred feet long,\r | |
147 | this challenge would be expensive, but easy. By making the\r | |
148 | boat tiny, you make the challenge affordable, but tough.\r | |
149 | The race has two divisions, sail powered and unlimited, but\r | |
150 | it's hard to see what they had in mind for propulsion by\r | |
151 | having an unlimited division. Possibly some\r | |
152 | seawater-replenished fuel cell.\r | |
153 | \r | |
154 | ** \r | |
155 | \r | |
156 | ** Bottles with corks have traversed the Atlantic (Score:2)\r | |
157 | (by aberglas ( 991072 ))\r | |
158 | \r | |
159 | \r | |
160 | Being small means relative high strength. A solid two\r | |
161 | meter boat should indestructible by waves. No need to\r | |
162 | keep a human alive, nor to go very fast. A very basic,\r | |
163 | fixed, small but strong sail would do.\r | |
164 | Ice bergs could be a problem. Surely better to start\r | |
165 | further south. Longer but safer. Also need to stay out\r | |
166 | of shipping lanes.\r | |
167 | I think this could be done without a computer. Just a\r | |
168 | magnetic compass controlling a rudder. Occasionally it\r | |
169 | would be blown backwards but no big deal. No need to\r | |
170 | worry about po\r | |
171 | \r | |
172 | \r | |
173 | \r | |
174 | \r | |
175 | ** KABLAM (Score:1)\r | |
176 | (by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ))\r | |
177 | \r | |
178 | \r | |
179 | No concrete barriers in the ocean?\r | |
180 | \r | |
181 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
182 | (by zlives ( 2009072 ))\r | |
183 | \r | |
184 | \r | |
185 | or pedestrians\r | |
186 | \r | |
187 | \r | |
188 | ** A small achievement... (Score:2)\r | |
189 | (by Bearhouse ( 1034238 ))\r | |
190 | \r | |
191 | \r | |
192 | Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?\r | |
193 | Single-handed (human) record is 3 1/2 days...\r | |
194 | [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]\r | |
195 | \r | |
196 | \r | |
197 | \r | |
198 | \r | |
199 | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlantic_sailing_record\r | |
200 | \r | |
201 | ** Re:A small achievement... (Score:4, Informative)\r | |
202 | (by careysub ( 976506 ))\r | |
203 | \r | |
204 | \r | |
205 | This is a 2 meter vessel, not a large racing hull built to be\r | |
206 | fast (and nothing but fast). Using the page you link to, the\r | |
207 | most useful comparison would be the single-handed records,\r | |
208 | and the one from 1987 which was about 11.5 days was in a 26\r | |
209 | meter hull! And this is the smallest vessel on the list. You\r | |
210 | are probably not going to get a 2 meter vessel to tear along\r | |
211 | at an average speed of 7.5 m/sec which would be needed for\r | |
212 | that 11.5 day crossing.\r | |
213 | \r | |
214 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
215 | (by Solandri ( 704621 ))\r | |
216 | \r | |
217 | \r | |
218 | There have been a few sailboats in the 2 meter size range\r | |
219 | which have made the transatlantic crossing.\r | |
220 | \r | |
221 | Hugo Vihlen aboard April Fool (1.8m) in 84 days in 1968,\r | |
222 | though technically he never finished since he was picked\r | |
223 | up by the USCG 6 miles offshore.\r | |
224 | Tom MacNally aboard the Vera Hugh (1.64m) in 134 days in\r | |
225 | 1993.\r | |
226 | Hugo Vihlen again aboard the Father's Day (1.62m) in 115\r | |
227 | days in 1993.\r | |
228 | Tom MacNally unsuccessfully attempted the trip again\r | |
229 | aboard a 1.19m craft in 1998. He passed away last year.\r | |
230 | [1]Site with picture [microcruising.com]\r | |
231 | \r | |
232 | \r | |
233 | \r | |
234 | \r | |
235 | [1] http://www.microcruising.com/famoussmallboats.htm\r | |
236 | \r | |
237 | \r | |
238 | \r | |
239 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
240 | (by careysub ( 976506 ))\r | |
241 | \r | |
242 | \r | |
243 | Also note that the world speed record for a radio-controlled\r | |
244 | sailing vessel (which was also 2 meters long) is [1]157.65 km\r | |
245 | in 23 hours 42 min [guinnessworldrecords.com] in the milder\r | |
246 | waters of the Mediterranean. At that world record speed in a\r | |
247 | small RC boat this challenge would have taken 32 days.\r | |
248 | So 79 days in a boat not controlled by a human, and not\r | |
249 | limited to a 24 hour period, in the open waters of the\r | |
250 | Atlantic is not so shabby. The speed made good over that\r | |
251 | whole journey is 40% of that 24 hour record.\r | |
252 | \r | |
253 | \r | |
254 | \r | |
255 | \r | |
256 | [1]\r | |
257 | http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/greatest-di-\r | |
258 | stance-by-radio-controlled-model-sailing-ship-in-24-hours-(rc)\r | |
259 | \r | |
260 | \r | |
261 | ** Re: (Score:3)\r | |
262 | (by arth1 ( 260657 ))\r | |
263 | \r | |
264 | \r | |
265 | > Sure the Atlantic can be a tough place, but 79 days?\r | |
266 | The Mayflower took 66 days to cross, and was much bigger.\r | |
267 | \r | |
268 | \r | |
269 | ** \r | |
270 | \r | |
271 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
272 | (by zlives ( 2009072 ))\r | |
273 | \r | |
274 | \r | |
275 | shipping containers are more profitable.\r | |
276 | \r | |
277 | \r | |
278 | ** And now the jokes begin... (Score:1)\r | |
279 | (by Jharish ( 101858 ))\r | |
280 | \r | |
281 | \r | |
282 | ..."I rowboat".\r | |
283 | https://www.theonion.com/i-rowboat-1819583491\r | |
284 | \r | |
285 | ** Re: (Score:2)\r | |
286 | (by starless ( 60879 ))\r | |
287 | \r | |
288 | \r | |
289 | Followed later by Cory Doctorow\r | |
290 | [1]http://bestsciencefictionstori... [bestscienc...tories.com]\r | |
291 | \r | |
292 | \r | |
293 | \r | |
294 | \r | |
295 | [1]\r | |
296 | http://bestsciencefictionstories.com/2009/03/29/i-row-boat-by-\r | |
297 | cory-doctorow/\r | |
298 | \r | |
299 | \r | |
300 | ** Description wrong? Not autonomous? (Score:5, Informative)\r | |
301 | (by starless ( 60879 ))\r | |
302 | \r | |
303 | \r | |
304 | > For the first time an autonomous sailing robot...\r | |
305 | From the linked article:\r | |
306 | [1]https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a... [apnews.com]\r | |
307 | > The Sailbuoy competed in the “unmanned” class, which allows\r | |
308 | > operators to change its course along the way. There’s a separate\r | |
309 | > “autonomous” class that prohibits any such communication.\r | |
310 | >> \r | |
311 | \r | |
312 | \r | |
313 | \r | |
314 | \r | |
315 | [1] https://www.apnews.com/f6d0e2a099684468873ab48966590ada\r | |
316 | \r | |
317 | ** So you crossed the sea, Columbot (Score:1)\r | |
318 | (by DulcetTone ( 601692 ))\r | |
319 | \r | |
320 | \r | |
321 | Don't forget that indigenous robots have rights, too.\r | |
322 | \r | |
323 | \r |