(August 19, 2015) Futuristic Mayflower Autonomous Research Ship (MARS)
Uses
Only Renewable Energy Sources to Operate
A pioneering project has been launched which aims to design,
build and sail the world's first full-sized, fully autonomous unmanned ship
across the Atlantic Ocean.
At over 100ft in length The Mayflower Autonomous Research
Ship, codenamed MARS, will use state-of-the-art wind and solar technology for
its propulsion enabling an unlimited range. The revolutionary trimaran vessel
will carry on board a variety of drones through which it will conduct
experiments during its voyage.
Following a year-long testing phase, the planned Atlantic
crossing in 2020 will mark the 400th anniversary of the original Mayflower
sailings from Plymouth, England to Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA.
Project MARS is being developed by a partnership of Plymouth
University, autonomous craft specialists MSubs and Shuttleworth Design.