It seems like the age of the robot is upon us. Already, they are vacuuming our floors, building our cars, and answering our phone calls. But according to The Times of London, robots may be on the verge of becoming our athletes and sports heroes.
The Times reports that seven robotic sailing ships (say that seven times fast!) are scheduled to compete in a cross-Atlantic race from Portugal to the United States this summer. Each of the seven robotic vessels was funded and built by Aberystwyth University in Wales, under the supervision of Dr. Mark Neal, a member of the Intelligent Robot Group.
The race across the Atlantic could prove to be a great challenge for the robot sailors, as it will take upwards of three months to complete the journey, and there are any number of obstacles that must be overcome in order to complete the challenge. For a robot vessel to survive three months on the open seas requires flexibility and a certain amount of artificial intelligence. Simply finishing the journey will in itself be a great accomplishment.
Besides dealing with inclement weather, the robots will also have to navigate and make periodic course adjustments based on wind and sea swell conditions. The boats will not be controlled by any type of remote control from the mainland; but instead, will be entirely at the mercy of their robot commanders, who will make all the decisions, course corrections and set the vessel’s speed.
While robot planes have been developed by military organizations around the world, and are currently in use, robotic sailing ships have been overlooked for the most part. The reason for this could be that conditions out at sea are just too unpredictable, and there are too many variables to be considered when plotting a course for sailing such a great distance.
But with the improvements in artificial intelligence over the last decade, researchers feel the time is finally right to allow a robot captains to take the helm. By being preprogrammed with hundreds of thousands of different variables and options, researchers are confident that the Robo-boats can navigate the treacherous mid-Atlantic safely, arriving on the shores of the United States in early autumn.
If the robotic skippers should turn out to be a great success, it could bode well for the future of robot shipping. In the decades to come, huge ocean liners, and even oil tankers, could potentially be controlled by highly intelligent robotic officers, programmed to allow and account for millions of potential variables, problems and obstacles. Who knows? Even vacation cruise ships might have a robot at the helm before long.
