Sea

© Liquid Robotics photo

Spausdinti   Supplement to article

A wide range of non-traditional craft sails not only in La Mancha, but also in the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean.

Wave-powered

At the end of November in San Francisco (USA), four robots, wave gliders started their journey through the Pacific Ocean. Their purpose is to sail through the Pacific Ocean in 300 days and reach the shores of Australia and Japan. These self-propelled ships have a feature, allowing them to exploit wave and solar energy. One wave glider weights 90 kilograms and has a surfboard, 208 centimeters in length and 160 in width. It is connected with the underwater part, which is 107 centimeter long hydrofoil. Such a device catches the wave power, pushing the device to sail forward. Wave gliders can reach the speed of two knots (about 3.5 km/h).

Respect for sea celebrities

New generation crafts were made in 2008 by a United States company Liquid Robotics. Since then, wave gliders were already tested and sailed some kilometers. Wave gliders journey through the Pacific Ocean is going to be their most difficult challenge. After covering about 66 thousand kilometers, these measures are expected to go down to the Guinness Book of Records. This could be the longest swimming without a single pilot. Wave gliders are programmed to sail from San Francisco to Hawaii. After that, they would sail in pairs to Japan and Australia.

Wave gliders sailing to Japan are called in the names of oceanographers Jacques Piccard (1922-2008) and Mori Matthew Fontaine (1806-1873). Jacques Piccard in 1960 using a bathyscaphe managed to descend to Mariana Trench and later wrote the book entitled 11 Thousand Meters of Depth. Fontaine was a U.S. oceanographer who prepared a global ocean wind and current map of the Atlantic Ocean and became the initiator of the establishment of hydrographic services in the U.S. The names of Australian wave gliders bear the names of American politician Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) and sea traveler Mau Piailug (1932-2010). Apart from his involvement in American politics, Benjamin Franklin is known as a researcher of atmosphere and the Gulf Stream.  Mau Piailug is known as a promoter of marine culture of Micronesia, Polynesia and the Pacific. He was also a teacher of navigation by the sun and stars.

Scientific investigations

Liquid Robotics has sent four wave gliders into the Pacific Ocean, but has made 70 of such wave gliders. Their price, according to the material used, varies from 200-500 U.S. dollars. Wave gliders are purchased or rented by various oil companies and scientists researching waters. The four wave gliders sailing through the Pacific Ocean are on a scientific mission. They are fitted with devices taking up water samples and, with the help of satellite, transmitting data on salinity, temperature and other parameters. All in all, wave gliders will transmit the information from more than two million track points. Wave gliders sailing to Japan will later be used for Marian Trench research.