In the News
Saildrones go where humans can’t — or don’t want to — to study the world’s oceans
NEAH BAY, Clallam County — As the crew of a Makah tribal salmon boat unloaded their catch like generations of fishermen before them, scientists at the other end of the pier in this small coastal community were wrangling more futuristic cargo. Chris Meinig is quoted and the Arctic and TPOS Saildrone missions are referenced.
The captainless research vessel
The regular patrons of the White Shark Café have had some company lately. In March, two autonomous robots, called Saildrones, departed from California en route to the “Café,” a mysterious stretch of water in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where the sharks are known to congregate. Jessica Cross and Meghan Cronin are quoted.
Adaptable and driven by renewable energy, saildrones voyage into remote waters
In March 2009, engineer Richard Jenkins broke the world land speed record for a wind-powered vehicle by sailing a bright green sailboat on wheels across a dried lakebed in Nevada at 126 miles per hour. Now, after many engineering developments and an orange paint job, Jenkins’ design autonomously sails the sea gathering ecologic, oceanic, and atmospheric data in the employ of NOAA.
This Armada of Saildrones Could Conquer the Ocean
Engineer and adventurer Richard Jenkins has made oceangoing robots that could revolutionize fishing, drilling, and environmental science. His aim: a thousand of them. Chris Meinig is quoted.
These autonomous sailing drones help researchers forecast extreme weather
Oceanic researchers are turning to autonomous sea drones to help them forecast extreme weather and understand the world's changing weather patterns. The 23-foot-long drones are made by Bay Area start-up Saildrone. Each Saildrone can be outfitted with a number of different sensors that it uses to gather and transmit real-time measurements on metrics including temperature, wind, humidity, solar radiation and weather patterns. References the TPOS Saildrone mission.