The 50-foot (15-metre) trimaran, which weighs nine tonnes and navigates with complete autonomy, is preparing for a transatlantic voyage.
On its journey, the vessel, covered in solar panels, will study marine pollution and analyse plastic in the water, as well as track aquatic mammals.
Eighty per cent of the underwater world remains unexplored.
Brett Phaneuf, the co-founder of the charity ProMare and the mastermind behind the Mayflower project, said the ocean exerts the most powerful force on the global climate.
Rosie Lickorish, a specialist in emerging technologies at IBM, one of the partners on the project, said the unmanned craft provided an advantage in the unforgiving environment .
Mayflower 400 will be guided by artificial intelligence rather than a human crew
It s slated to depart from Plymouth, England on May 15 for a 3,000 mile journey
It should arrive at Plymouth, Massachusetts, two weeks later
En route it will gather research data on marine animals and ocean pollution
The trip was slated for September 2020 but was postponed by the pandemic
The "Mayflower 400" the world's first intelligent ship bobs gently in a light swell as it stops its engines in Plymouth Sound, off England's southwest coast, before self-activating a hydrophone designed to listen to whales. The journey to Plymouth, Massachusetts the same voyage made by pilgrims on the original "Mayflower" in 1620 as they sought a new life in America will take three weeks.
A team of researchers is hoping a ship called the Mayflower 400 will become the first unmanned vessel to navigate its own way across the Atlantic Ocean.
Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch was meant to take place last year to mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the original Mayflower, a ship that took settlers from England to North America.
Mayflower 400 is set to sail from Plymouth in the UK to Plymouth, Massachusetts next month.
A new way to monitor ocean data
The vessel has artificial intelligence technology and in-built computer systems to measure sea levels, the chemical content of the ocean, and record audio to track whale populations.
First autonomous ship prepares for maiden ocean voyage
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published : 30 Apr 2021 at 13:45 The Mayflower 400 autonomous trimaran during sea trials in Plymouth this week.
PLYMOUTH, United Kingdom: The Mayflower 400 - the world s first intelligent ship - bobs gently in a light swell as it stops its engines in Plymouth Sound, off England s southwest coast, before self-activating a hydrophone designed to listen to whales.
The 15-metre trimaran, which weighs nine tonnes and navigates with complete autonomy, is preparing for a transatlantic voyage.
On its journey the vessel, covered in solar panels, will study marine pollution and analyse plastic in the water, as well as track aquatic mammals.