"Seagulls," said Andy Stanford-Clark, excitedly. In fact, you can totally ignore them." Stanford-Clark, the chief technology officer for IBM in the U.K. and Ireland, was exuding nervous energy. It was the afternoon before the morning when, at 4 a.m. British Summer Time, IBM's Mayflower Autonomous Ship -- a crewless, fully autonomous trimaran piloted entirely by IBM's A.I., and built by non-profit ocean research company ProMare -- was set to commence its voyage from Plymouth, England. to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. And now, after countless tests and hundreds of thousands of hours of simulation training, it was about to set sail for real. Stanford-Clark was running through the potential risks. Seagulls, he pointed out, were something of a false alarm. From an image-recognition perspective, they were a challenge because they had a tendency of getting right up in the camera lens so that they looked like enormous winged obstacles that needed to be avoided at all costs. But they had a tendency ...

Another ship called the Mayflower is set to make its way across the Atlantic Ocean this week, but it won't be carrying English pilgrims -- or any people -- at all. When the Mayflower Autonomous Ship leaves its home port in Plymouth, England to attempt the world's first fully autonomous transatlantic voyage, it will have a highly trained "captain" and a "navigator" versed in the rules of avoiding collisions at sea on board, both controlled by artificial intelligence (AI). The ship's AI captain was developed by Marine AI and is guided by an expert system based on IBM technologies, including automation software widely used by the financial sector. The technology could someday help crewed vessels navigate difficult situations and facilitate low-cost exploration of the oceans that cover 70 percent of the Earth's surface. Over its roughly three-week trip, the Mayflower sea drone will sail through the Isles of Scilly and over the site of the lost Titanic to land in Plymouth, Massachusetts, as the colonists on the first Mayflower did more than 400 years ago.

Sometime next April, a 50-foot-long autonomous ship will shake loose the digital bonds of its human controllers, scan the horizon with radar, and set a course westward across the Atlantic. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship won't be taking commands from a human captain like the first Mayflower did during its crossing back in 1620. Instead it will get orders from an "AI captain" built by programmers at IBM. The Mayflower's computing system processes data from 30 onboard sensors and six cameras to help the ship sail across the ocean, obey shipping rules (like how to pass other ships at sea), and control electrical and mechanical systems like the engine and rudder. There won't be anyone on board if something goes wrong, although it does have to send a daily report to a human operator back in the UK.

In September 1620, a wooden ship called the Mayflower departed Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers across the Atlantic on a history-making voyage. This week, another Mayflower debuted at the same port--but unlike its predecessor, the new vessel has no human crew, passengers or captain, reports Jill Lawless for the Associated Press. Created by marine research organization ProMare and tech company IBM, the modern ship is piloted entirely by artificial intelligence (A.I.). Soon, it will embark for Cape Cod, Massachusetts, powered by the sun and wind as it undertakes a pioneering research expedition. Originally slated to complete its trip this year, the A.I.-driven Mayflower Autonomous Ship will undergo six months of trials before attempting a trans-Atlantic voyage in spring 2021.

The Mayflower is one-step closer to sailing from England to Plymouth – but this time it will be without a crew. Powered artificial intelligence, the autonomous ship is set to start trials in England and will be unveiled on September 16 in honor of the 400th anniversary the original vessel made its journey in 1620. The Mayflower will undergo several trips and missions over the next six months before it makes the more than 3,000 mile expedition across the Atlantic. The robot craft was set to embark on the journey next week, but has been delayed until April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS), first revealed in 2017, is powered completely by reusable energy, mainly solar power, and made in partnership with University of Plymouth, autonomous craft specialists MSubs and public charity Promare which promotes marine research and exploration throughout the world.

An autonomous boat under developments could be the first ship to cross the Atlantic that is able to navigate around ships and other hazards by itself. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) is an autonomous vessel due to depart from Plymouth in England on the fourth centenary of the original Mayflower voyage, on 6 September 2020, with its destination Plymouth, USA. The project was put together by marine research and exploration company ProMare in an effort to expand the scope of marine research. The boat will carry three research pods equipped with scientific instruments to measure various phenomena such as ocean plastics, mammal behaviour or sea level changes. IBM has now joined the initiative, and it will supply technical support for all navigation operations. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) is an unmanned vessel set to depart from Plymouth in England on the fourth centenary of the original Mayflower voyage.

A fully autonomous ship tracing the journey of the Mayflower is being built by a UK-based team, with help from tech firm IBM. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, or MAS, will launch from Plymouth in the UK in September 2020. Its voyage will mark the 400th anniversary of the pilgrim ship which brought European settlers to America in 1620. IBM is providing artificial intelligence systems for the ship. The vessel will make its own decisions on its course and collision avoidance, and will even make expensive satellite phone calls back to base if it deems it necessary.

A fully autonomous ship tracing the journey of the Mayflower is being built by a UK-based team, with help from tech firm IBM. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship, or MAS, will launch from Plymouth in the UK in September 2020. Its voyage will mark the 400th anniversary of the pilgrim ship which brought European settlers to America in 1620. IBM is providing artificial intelligence systems for the ship. The vessel will make its own decisions on its course and collision avoidance, and will even make expensive satellite phone calls back to base if it deems it necessary.

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