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Robotic Boat Hits 1,000-Mile Mark In Transatlantic Crossing

Posted by Soulskill on from the if-only-christopher-columbus-had-an-arduino-and-GPS dept.

toygeek writes "'Scout,' a 4-meter-long autonomous boat built by a group of young DIYers, is attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean. It is traveling from Rhode Island, where it launched on 24 August, to Spain, where all being well it will arrive in a few months' time. Scout has now gone about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of its planned 3,700-mile (5,900 kilometer) journey. Should it complete this voyage successfully, its passage will arguably belong in the history books."

16 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Cargo size? by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How much cocaine or heroin can you pack into one of these babies? I'm sure after trying their hand with human piloted semi-submersibles the cartels could be interested in autonomous vehicles.

    After all if you can keeps the contents dry and keep the supply chain flowing it doesn't matter how long the transit time is.

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    1. Re:Cargo size? by GIL_Dude · · Score: 2

      They would need weaponized autonomous vehicles though. Otherwise the other drug runners would steal from them by capturing their autonomous vehicle. They would need to be hardened from a computer / radio front so that they can't simply be "hacked" to go to a different destination and they would need to be hardened to physical assault so that crazies in rubber boats wouldn't come steal the drugs or simply grab the whole unit.

    2. Re:Cargo size? by OzPeter · · Score: 3, Interesting

      They would need weaponized autonomous vehicles though. Otherwise the other drug runners would steal from them by capturing their autonomous vehicle.

      I severely doubt it. Picture a very low profile boat with a camouflage paint job that pics its own random course between the start and finish waypoints. And with enough smarts to know not to broadcast its whereabouts or to accept instructions from random transmitters. They only way you could intercept something like that is to accidentally hit it.

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    3. Re:Cargo size? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They would need weaponized autonomous vehicles though. Otherwise the other drug runners would steal from them by capturing their autonomous vehicle. They would need to be hardened from a computer / radio front so that they can't simply be "hacked" to go to a different destination and they would need to be hardened to physical assault so that crazies in rubber boats wouldn't come steal the drugs or simply grab the whole unit.

      Submersibles would be one way to eliminate one of those larger issues of being seen, drifting just below the surface to still enable comms.

      The harder part would be hardening the computer/radio, for all radio signals are eventually found, and could likely be pinpointed.

      This will likely feed the next-gen autonomous submersibles equipped with encrypting radio hardware that beacon out sync signals at random intervals and on various frequencies to avoid detection.

      (And you thought the military were the ones advancing tech. Nah. It's usually drugs and porn. No, seriously.)

    4. Re:Cargo size? by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The harder part would be hardening the computer/radio, for all radio signals are eventually found, and could likely be pinpointed.

      You don't need to harden the computer/radio - all you need is code in computer the goes something like:

      Am I near the start or end waypoint?
      Yes - OK listen for instructions from sources that validate in my cryptographic code, but don't announce my location until instructed to.
      No - Shut the radio down and run silent

      Now lets generate 10 semi random way points and head towards them one by one.
      Have I reached one of the computed waypoints?
          Is it the last computed waypoint?
              No - head for the next computed waypoint
              Yes - head for the end waypoint.

      If the "opposition" knows where the start and end way points are, or know how to defeat your encryption then you have bigger problems that someone hijacking you cargo.

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    5. Re:Cargo size? by icebike · · Score: 2

      They only way you could intercept something like that is to accidentally hit it.

      Yes, brilliant.

      To bad we have never invented something that could bounce sound waves off of objects in or under the water so that we could find them even when we can't see them.

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  2. Re:History books?!?! by OzPeter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Somebody is WAAAAY too easily impressed. It's a cool achievment? But historic?!?!?!

    Its got "an Arduino, of course!" (*) in it .. surely that by itself is enough to make the history books?
     
    * Direct quote from TFA .. including the exclamation mark.

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  3. Saildrone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check out Saildrone at http://mstfoundation.org/story/Saildrone. I'm friends with the guys building these and they are pretty cool. The prototype made it half way to Hawaii from California before a broken sensor forced them to turn it around and have it sail back to San Francisco. I believe it did around 2500 miles in that trip

  4. Their data is suspect.... by jcochran · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think that they might have issues with tracking. Or else there's something really, really screwy going on with their boat. Over a period of about 855 hours, the boat has traveled 1383 miles for an average speed of a bit over 1 mph. However, the "real time" tracking page has more than a few data points claiming outrageous speeds, like 95 mph over a 20 minute span. That figure is only the highest I saw. Also saw a few over 70 mph.

    1. Re:Their data is suspect.... by ThatAblaze · · Score: 2

      The ocean has currents. Obviously this craft occasionally encounters some of them.

    2. Re:Their data is suspect.... by pseudofrog · · Score: 4, Funny

      You haven't truly lived unless you've traveled in a 95 mph ocean current.

    3. Re:Their data is suspect.... by Longjmp · · Score: 3, Funny

      You haven't truly lived unless you've traveled in a 95 mph ocean current.

      Don't forget avalanche surfing in winter!

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    4. Re:Their data is suspect.... by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Speaking of which, I have some serious questions about some of their design decisions.

      Example: it has a square stern, even though there is no necessity for a motor mount or the like. A rudder, sure, but that does not prevent the construction of a "boat tail" design, which is arguably much more efficient.

      The slanted deck puzzled me at first, until I realized that it was for the solar panels, being in the North Atlantic.

      The reverse direction of the bow does have me puzzled, though. It would seem to tend to drive the tip underwater (even if just a little), which could be a significant additional source of drag.

      I saw no provision for bilge drainage or pump at all; presumably they have a lot of confidence in their waterproofing (motor shaft, rudder controls such as cable or rods). If I had done the design this would have been a very important consideration. It is an obvious potential point of failure. Even if your motor and electronics continue to function, if your hull fills with water you will be going slow indeed.

      And the bilge issues is not just something "I didn't notice". It's baked into the design. There is no provision at the bottom of the bulkheads for water to move at all, for example. You don't see that in "real world" boats. Not even in submarines.

    5. Re:Their data is suspect.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hi Jane,
      Just to answer a few questions of yours,

      As for the inverted bow stem I recommend looking into modern sailing yacht design, put the buoyancy where is needed and reduce windage at the same time. In fact it tends to keep the bow from driving in too much and allows for easy resurfacing if the bow does punch in....see AC72 as well as any modern catamaran design...while SCOUT is not a sail boat or cat, similar design goal are in mind especially regarding windage.

      2. We do have a bilge pump, there is an electronic water sensor that turns on the bilge pump once there is enough water inside.

      3. We have flow channels (ie holes) in the bottom of each bulk head to allow water to move the lowest point in the hull, where the pick up for the bilge pump is.

      We are happy to help answer any other questions you guys have!

  5. Re:hey, guys.. by OzPeter · · Score: 2

    why the fuck did you not participate in one of the several regular 'contests' or 'races' for this type of 'boat'? such as http://www.microtransat.org/ ???

    First of all .. interesting competition.
     
    Secondly .. from the rules of that competition: No source of propulsion other than wind.

    The boat in TFA is electrically driven, so that might (IMHO) disqualify it from the microtransat competition.

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  6. Re:History books?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Its not the first robot boat to attempt a transatlantic crossing. A load of attempts have been made by sailing boats in the Microtransat Challenge (www.microtransat.org), but none of them have got anywhere near 1000 miles yet.