• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Autonomous Watercraft (Vessels; Submarines; Etc.)

Not a problem:

"The solar powered autonomous system will come to the surface each day to recharge its onboard energy system and then undertake ocean data sampling activities during the nighttime hours. While on the surface, it can update its position using GPS and communicate with a remote user to offload acquired data and receive modifications to its onboard instructions. We are specifically focused on the problems that will arise when many of these vehicles are used simultaneously to gather data in a cooperative fashion."

NB These people are serious, and rather dangerous....
 
They can't be designed to go deep since it'd take most of the time and charge to go to the bottom, gather data, then return to the top.

A high tech, sea-born yo-yo!

The idea of a bunch of dolphins spotting these things and walloping it appeals to me!
 
Looks like a good idea to me; they are exploring the sea and the use of swarming autotrophic robots at the same time.

Yes, it could be turned into a weapon; but that is probably true of most things.
 
"Dangerous?"

One is slightly concerned about the possbility of large numbers of these things on the loose for military purposes. In the aircraft arena, the military were/are many years ahead in solar powered craft, and bearing in mind the participants I suspect this is the offshoot of a military program.

It would make an effective terror weapon in the wrong hands.
 
There are already plenty of drones at sea. I don’t think that’s a secret anymore (just googled and no it’s not).
Commercial vessels could be vulnerable if unmanned I would have thought.
 
Up to about 3 months ago there were two doing survey work in the Irish sea,
they were at sea for several days at a time.
 
Unmanned boats are becoming quite common now. I've been involved with a USV project - wrote a manual for the software.
Mostly, they're experimental, but they are gaining more interest with coastguard security.
 
Thing is, unmanned boats might be wrecked/lost without loss to life but money. They might - bottom line - cause other manned boats damage/risk. So why do it?
I'd suggest that a helmsman-less (if that's a thing) boat with living passengers, though, would be the height of folly. That's like an air liner with no flight crew carrying passengers. Nice in theory but human life and safety is known for ignoring theory.
Take in that any automated control system is at risk from criminal interference, the more so with valuable cargo, and it sounds all very sci-fi but at it's core is replacing human crew costs with technology. And this isn't always a good idea.
For a "what if ..." consideration, look at the plot of the cheesy sci-fi movie Moon 44. I'd recommend it to watch (I've a VHS copy) but the set-up is particularly relevant to this discussion. ;)
 
There's a column in the latest FT about how GPS can be manipulated or "spoofed", and indeed has been, sending ships on wild goose chases or going in circles. The tech available to do so is getting cheaper and more accessible, too. Set a criminal loose on an unmanned ship with one of those and wave goodbye to your cargo.
 
There's a unmanned survey vessel working out of Fleetwood at the moment,
it's likely to be at sea for up to a week but if it comes back in I will have a look.
 
This attempt at a transatlantic crossing by the largest autonomous watercraft to date has been temporarily suspended. The robot vessel returned to port for repair of a mechanical problem. To a far greater extent than is the case for autonomous cars, such failures can strand autonomous watercraft far from available support services.
AI-powered Mayflower, beset with glitch, returns to England

The Mayflower had a few false starts before its trailblazing sea voyage to America more than 400 years ago. Now, its artificial intelligence-powered namesake is having some glitches of its own.

A sleek robotic trimaran retracing the 1620 journey of the famous English vessel had to turn back Friday to fix a mechanical problem.

Nonprofit marine research organization ProMare, which worked with IBM to build the autonomous ship, said it made the decision to return to base “to investigate and fix a minor mechanical issue” but hopes to be back on the trans-Atlantic journey as soon as possible.

With no humans on board the ship, there’s no one to make repairs while it’s at sea. ...
FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/science-...ogy-business-2c7bde56c626daa255e906e3423c8116
 
This attempt at a transatlantic crossing by the largest autonomous watercraft to date has been temporarily suspended. The robot vessel returned to port for repair of a mechanical problem. To a far greater extent than is the case for autonomous cars, such failures can strand autonomous watercraft far from available support services.

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/science-...ogy-business-2c7bde56c626daa255e906e3423c8116
So much for our aspiring robot overlords, we're fine as long as we dont give them the ability to fix themselves :p
 
China has declassified and publicized documentation on its development and testing of autonomous marine drones (unmanned underwater vehicles; UUVs).
China is developing underwater AI robots that can hide in the sea and attack enemy vessels with torpedoes WITHOUT human guidance

The unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) were developed in experiments over a decade ago and successfully managed to use artificial intelligence to find a dummy submarine and attack it with a torpedo.

The experiments, conducted in the Taiwan Strait, saw the UUV deployed on a fixed course 30ft below the surface. ...

It was able to identify the location of the submarine, change course, circle the target, and then fire at the dummy with an unarmed torpedo. ...

The experiments were described in papers written by researchers at Harbin Engineering University in 2010 and declassified last week. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-hide-sea-attack-WITHOUT-human-guidance.html
 
The same article cited above includes the following information about Chinese UUVs discovered in the waters of other Asian countries.
Several UUVs have been washed up on various beaches in Asia. In December, Indonesia fishermen found a two-metre unmanned underwater drone in waters near Selayar Island, just off South Sulawesi.

The UUV was reported to authorities six days later and images published in local media showed Indonesian military officers posing with the long grey drone, identified as a Chinese Haiyi, or 'Sea Wing'.

The high-tech unpowered surveillance device is known as a glider and utilises variable-buoyancy propulsion to explore the waters.

Local media said the drone was 'in the shape of a missile', made of aluminium, and was 225cm in length with a 50cm wing on either side. A rear antenna attached to the equipment is also 93cm in length. ...
SOURCE (With Photo & Illustration): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...s-hide-sea-attack-WITHOUT-human-guidance.html
 
A Norwegian company is poised to begin using its prototype autonomous electrically-driven cargo ship to transport goods among Norwegian ports by the end of this year.
World's first crewless, zero emissions cargo ship will set sail in Norway

A Norwegian company has created what it calls the world's first zero-emission, autonomous cargo ship.

If all goes to plan, the ship will make its first journey between two Norwegian towns before the end of the year, with no crew onboard. Instead, its movements will be monitored from three onshore data control centers.

It's not the first autonomous ship -- an autonomous ferry launched in Finland in 2018 -- but it is the first fully electric container ship, say its makers. Developed by chemical company Yara International, the Yara Birkeland was designed to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are toxic pollutants and greenhouse gases, and carbon dioxide, as well as moving freight away from roads to the sea. ...

First conceptualized in 2017, the ship was created in partnership with technology firm Kongsberg Maritime and shipbuilder Vard. Capable of carrying 103 containers and with a top speed of 13 knots, it will use a 7 MWh battery, with "about a thousand times the capacity of one electrical car," according to Jon Sletten, plant manager for Yara's factory in Porsgrunn, Norway.

He says it will be charged at the quayside "before sailing to container harbors along the coast and then back again, replacing 40,000 truck journeys a year." ...
FULL STORY (With Photos): https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/worl...y-crewless-container-ship-spc-intl/index.html
 
A Norwegian company is poised to begin using its prototype autonomous electrically-driven cargo ship to transport goods among Norwegian ports by the end of this year.

FULL STORY (With Photos): https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/25/worl...y-crewless-container-ship-spc-intl/index.html
It may be 'zero emissions' but I would say it is far from environmentally friendly, what with the massive battery (they do know that these batteries use electricity from power stations when charging?!) and the 3 onshore data control centres that control it. Plus that is 40,000 less truck journeys that someone is not being paid to do.
 
It'll end up being used to smuggle whisky/whiskey and drugs.

A self-driving hydrogen-powered submarine is among the winners in a UK government competition to tackle emissions from shipping.

A start-up consortium has been given £380,000 to develop the sub to deliver parcels without a captain or crew. Call it blue seas thinking - the submarine will follow shipping routes but 50 metres below the surface. It will be able to deliver goods in shallow waters where container ships can't operate. Then it will dive beneath the waves to weather storms on the open ocean.

The firm awarded the grant, Oceanways, has flagged Belfast to Glasgow as a possible route for the submarine. The firm's founder and chief executive Dhruv Boruah said the unmanned boat will not be competing with cargo ships, instead concentrating on "short and sharp" journeys.

But what kind of cargo will the submarine be carrying?

"That's what we're going to figure out over the next few months," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme. "I think whisky would be a good candidate."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-58571143
 
The RoBoat III autonomous boat is in the final stages of testing and deployment on Amsterdam's canals.
Self-Driving Roboats – Developed at MIT – Set Sea in Amsterdam Canals

Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Senseable City Laboratory, together with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) in the Netherlands, have now created the final project in their self-navigating trilogy: a full-scale, fully autonomous robotic boat that’s ready to be deployed along the canals of Amsterdam.

“Roboat” has come a long way since the team first started prototyping small vessels in the MIT pool in late 2015. Last year, the team released their half-scale, medium model that was 2 meters long and demonstrated promising navigational prowess.

This year, two full-scale Roboats were launched, proving more than just proof-of-concept: these craft can comfortably carry up to five people, collect waste, deliver goods, and provide on-demand infrastructure.

The boat looks futuristic ... It’s a fully electrical boat with a battery that’s the size of a small chest, enabling up to 10 hours of operation and wireless charging capabilities. ...
FULL STORY: https://scitechdaily.com/self-driving-roboats-developed-at-mit-set-sea-in-amsterdam-canals/
 
Here's a video illustrating the RoBoat III in use ...

 
Back
Top