A ship has used autonomous (自主的) sailing technology to complete a trip across world oceans for the first time. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship is a completely autonomous ocean research ship powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The Mayflower recently completed a five-week trip across the Atlantic Ocean without any humans on board. It set off from the British port of Plymouth on April 27 and arrived in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax on June 5. The 15-meter Mayflower is named after a ship that carried a group of European settlers from Plymouth to No.0rth America more than 400 years ago. That famous trip, in 1620, prepared the way for Britain's colonization (殖民) of what Europeans called the New World.
The Mayflower experienced breakdowns on its latest trip, as well as an earlier attempt to cross the Atlantic. The first attempt, in June 2021, was called off after a breakdown forced the ship to return to Plymouth. Later, during the latest trip, a problem with the ship's power system led project organizers to send the ship to Portugal's Azores in the mid-Atlantic. A team member was flown to the area to perform repairs.
More troubles came in late May when the Mayflower developed another power issue. That trouble was also repaired. But the team decided to send the ship on a new path to Halifax. Experts say AI is getting much better at helping self- sailing ships understand their surroundings and pilot themselves. But most autonomous systems cannot repair themselves when the engine fails. The Mayflower is equipped with instruments designed to measure the health of ocean water. Such ships could be used to probe into parts of oceans that are too difficult for people to reach.
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