A year after the first unsuccessful attempt Norwegian company Offshore Sensing conducted the first ever successful crossing of the Atlantic by using a compact self-contained floating means Sailbuoy Met. The device, resembling a small surfboard with a few solar panels and a rigid sail, was launched from the island of Newfoundland (USA) the staff of the Maritime Institute of the United States June 7, 2018, and, having overcome a distance of 3000 miles, reached the coast of Ireland on August 26.
Last year, another apparatus Sailbuoy Wave of the same Norwegian company for two months in total covered a distance of about 4500 kilometers in the North Atlantic until he was caught fishing boat in working condition. The checking apparatus after his return home revealed that several dropped out of the plating of the bolts caused a short circuit in the autopilot system of an Autonomous ship, which did not allow to successfully complete the task.
New and homely at first glance, the Autonomous ship is actually equipped with advanced technology. Sailbuoy is equipped with various marine sensors and navigation systems are controlled via satellite, and also uses the tracking system in real time via the satellite system Iridium. In addition, there are lots of scientific equipment that allows the camera to analyze water quality, determine the locations of oil-spill, measure the height of the waves, and collect meteorological and other Oceanographic data. For the movement of the camera used the wind and sail hard. The system of solar he was responsible for the on-Board electronics of the ship.
In the company Offshore Sensing note that during the Atlantic crossing the ship encountered very different weather conditions from dead calm to these storms. The conquest of the Atlantic Autonomous courts is part of the Microtransat Challenge competition since 2010. For all the time it was attended by more than 200 vessels, but Sailbuoy was the first drone, which was subjected to the ocean.
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Autonomous drone for the first time crossed the Atlantic
Nikolai Khizhnyak