Earlier this month, 3D Robotics got the chance to attend the 2014 World Autonomous Boat Competition at the California Maritime Academy. Above is a reel of the aerial video we captured: Robots in the air filming robots on the water!
We weren’t competing, of course: The international concours is a venue for university teams, and has been held annually at different sites across North America since 2006. This year’s competition featured crafts in several different classes, and ran over the course of a few days.
The student teams design handmade RC sailboats -- or sailbots, as they’re called -- as well as code the software that guides them across the water. For competition, the students themselves pilot the boat into position, then cut the radio link and let the autopilot take over. The boats adjust course automatically to navigate a series of challenges, while also accounting for conditions of wind, waves, and current -- testing the waters of a technology that will soon power larger manned craft for military and other applications.
If you’re interested in learning more about the competition, or would like to enter a team of your own, visit www.sailbot.org.
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