After failing its first attempt last year, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), which attempted to recreate a historical journey across the Atlantic in the 17th century, piloted by artificial intelligence (AI), set sail again from the Port of Plymouth, England, on April 27, heading off to the coast of Virginia, USA.
Schematic diagram of the route of the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS).
The 5-ton, 50-foot-long autonomous vessel is reportedly 50 feet long and worth £1 million ($1.3 million). If all goes according to plan, it will reach its destination in three weeks and become the largest autonomous vessel ever to cross the Atlantic.
The MAS was built to recreate the historical journey of the Mayflower from England to the New World more than 400 years ago.
On November 21, 1620, the Mayflower transported 102 "pilgrims" to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The Mayflower, carrying 102 passengers known as the Pilgrims, took 10 weeks in the autumn of 1620 to reach its destination on November 21.
The original Mayflower docked at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while the MAS will head south of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Mas had planned to retrace the original journey of 1620, and it is unclear why the route was changed.
MAS was done in partnership with the University of Plymouth, autonomous navigation specialist MSubs, technology company IBM and public charity Promare.
MaS was done in partnership with the University of Plymouth, autonomous navigation expert MSubs, technology company IBM and public charity Promare, which promotes marine research and exploration around the world.
Built in Poland to ProMare specifications, the vessel features a number of advanced marine hull features, all designed to withstand the stress of long-term sea travel.
The human operator programmed the MAS to tell it where to travel, but then it would figure it out on its own, taking into account the weather, ocean currents, collision regulations, and other variables, and get there.
The ship relies on the ship's "AI Captain" to guide the voyage.
MAS can use a combination of radar, cameras, and automatic identification systems (AIS) to react in real time to ocean traffic, which can transmit information such as the latitude and longitude of the Mayflower to other vessels.
MAS will collect "critical" data about the ocean, such as the number of whales, the use of its microphones and the sampling of plastic traces of water.
The ship relies on the ship's "AI Captain" to guide the voyage.
AI Captain uses computer vision, automation software, and IBM's AI platform Watson technology. It was trained in more than 1 million nautical images, so it could identify ships, debris, bridges, land and other dangerous objects.
On the 28th, AI Captain posted a message on social media Twitter: "Under the leadership of the artificial intelligence captain, MAS 400 is now in international waters, and it is trying to cross the Atlantic Ocean. ”
In addition to being powered by artificial intelligence, the MAS ship has 30 sensors collecting data and 15 edge devices analyzing data. It also has 6 cameras that offer a live view of the boat's journey on its official website.
The interior of the Mayflower autonomous ship is different from the living area of the original ship, there are no beds and bathrooms, only rooms for scientific experiments.
In 2016, the City of Plymouth proposed a replica to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the upcoming Mayflower journey.
The MAS debuted in 2017 and was originally scheduled to set sail in September 2020 to mark the anniversary, but the plan was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The MAS first set off on June 15, 2021, but after the AI suffered a malfunction, it had to return to shore three days later.
Brett Phneuf, co-director of the project and president of ProMare, said the team has improved the computer vision software since the crash.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin