AI Mayflower ship completes its journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 40 days

A robotic recreation of the 17th century Mayflower ship has finally completed a 3,500 journey across the Atlantic Ocean, in 40 days. Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) – a 50-foot-long autonomous research vessel piloted by artificial intelligence (AI) – arrived in Halifax, Canada on Sunday (June 5). MAS, which carried no humans on board and relied on artificial intelligence, had set sail from Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth, England in the early hours of April 27. The ship was smooth sailing until the second week of May when a generator issue diverted it to Portugal's Azores islands so a team member could fly in to do repairs. During the latter stages of the journey the decision was made to head to Halifax – as opposed to Virginia as previously planned – due to more mechanical issues.