The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), an AI and solar-powered
marine research vessel which will traverse oceans gathering vital environmental
data, was lifted into the waters off the coast of Plymouth, England. Developed
for the non-profit ocean research organization ProMare, in partnership with IBM
and a partnership of scientific organizations, is preparing to make one of the
world's first autonomous transatlantic voyages.
After two years of design, construction, and training of its
AI models, the new fully-autonomous trimaran will be officially launched on
September 16. The hull of the Mayflower was built and outfitted in Gdansk,
Poland, before being transported to Plymouth, UK. The vessel measures 15 meters
in length and weights five tons. It will have a top speed of 20 knots.
Designed to provide a safe, flexible, and cost-effective way
of gathering data about the ocean, the new-generation Mayflower promises to
transform oceanography by working in tandem with scientists and other
autonomous vessels to help understand critical issues such as global warming,
micro-plastic pollution, and marine mammal conservation.
The Mayflower, named in honor of her historic predecessor
that carried settled across the Atlantic to the new world, features an AI
Captain built by ProMare and IBM developers. The AI system will give the MAS the ability to sense, think and make decisions
at sea with no human captain or onboard crew. The new class of marine AI is
underpinned by IBM's latest advanced edge computing systems, automation
software, computer vision technology, and Red Hat Open Source software.
"Able to scan the horizon for possible hazards, make
informed decisions and change its course based on a fusion of live data, the
Mayflower Autonomous Ship has more in common with a modern bank than its
17th-century namesake," said Andy Stanford-Clark, Chief Technology
Officer, IBM UK & Ireland. "With its ability to keep running in the
face of the most challenging conditions, this small ship is a microcosm for
every aspiring 21st-century business."
To enable followers around the world to stay updated with MAS
as it undertakes its various missions, IBM and ProMare also launched a new
interactive web portal. The MAS400 portal is designed to provide real-time
updates about the ship's location, environmental conditions, and data from its
various research projects. Live weather data will be streamed from The Weather
Company, as MAS is receiving forecast data and insight from the new IBM Weather
Operations Center.
The portal even features a seven-armed, stowaway octopus
chatbot called Artie, who claims to be hitching a ride on the ship. Powered by
IBM Watson Assistant technology and created in partnership with European
start-up Chatbotbay, Artie has been trained to provide information about MAS
and its adventures in a lively, and accessible format.
"MAS400.com is one of the most advanced ocean mission
web portals ever built," says Fredrik Soreide, Scientific Director of the
Mayflower Autonomous Ship project and Board Member of ProMare. "Protecting
the ocean depends on our ability to engage the public in important matters
affecting its health. This MAS400 portal is designed to do exactly that and
tell people where the ship is, what speed it's traveling at, what conditions
it's operating in, and what science we are conducting. Users can even help
Artie the Octopus fish out surgical masks, cigarette butts, and other
increasingly common forms of ocean litter from a virtual ocean of facts and
data."
MAS will spend the next six months in sea trials and
undertake various research missions and voyages before attempting to cross the
Atlantic in the spring of 2021. MAS's transatlantic voyage will be based on a
similar route and pioneering spirit to the 1620 Mayflower which made the same
crossing 400 years ago.