Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/10/22/a-robot-tugboat-just-made-a-successful-1000-mile-journey-overseas.html
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As a former commercial sailor, that is really astonishing leap forward. Hope it works out for those guys multiplying the process.
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A thousand miles! That’s quite impressive.
I wonder: how far is it from the coast of Colombia to a sparsely-populated spot on the west coast of Floriday? Just curious.
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Cause god forbid anyone gets any more days off.
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On the flip side, there are worse jobs, I suppose, than sitting passively on a boat for a while
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I would love to know more about why this is hard. I get the hardware is complex and certainly a feat of engineering, but the software involved in open ocean navigations is… GPS and some object avoidance protocols? Tell me why I’m wrong.
Wind, current, and angle of incident of waves. All constantly changing.
It’s multiple dimensions more difficult than land-based navigation.
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The “what could go wrong” scenarios are incalculable.
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Pirates are going to have to learn hacking skills.
That’s a solved problem, people have been ‘pirating’ for years!
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The fact that the passage was coastal and ended at a dock is an order of magnitude more impressive than making an open water, straight line kind of trip. Cool!
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Like, every single other job! I totally want that job!
Which reminds me…
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I wonder if they will just have to block it and confuse the safety systems like people are doing with cars and food delivery bots?
Most commercial vessels have an autopilot anyway, even after reading the article I’m still not sure how this is truly different than a standard plotting program, which already adjust for wind, current, detect navigation hazards, and the like. I guess this is a miniaturizd, all-in-one package deal with some good marketing. It doesn’t actually threaten anyone’s job, as on a commercial vessel you have to have someone on the bridge anyway, and most of the crew are aboard for non-navigational jobs anyway. Now, if they make a robot that can spot rust stains, strip the old paint down to bare metal, clean, prep, and paint, then they’re threatening the jobs on board a ship.
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