Boating USA — February 2018

MAKING WAVES///5 THINGS AND NEWS

5

THINGS

26 | BOATINGMAG.COM | FEBRUARY 2018

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ILLUSTRATIONS: COLIN HAYES; PHOTO: COURTESY SEA MACHINES ROBOTICS INC.

NO CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

The technology behind

autonomous (self-driving)

cars has been accelerat-

ing at a wicked pace, but

autonomous boats may be

part of the everyday seascape

much sooner. In September

2017, Sea Machines Robotics

announced the release of the

East Boston-based company’s

first product, an autonomous

control system for commer-

cial marine vessels, the Sea

Machines 300. According to

the company, its technology,

which is intended for

commercial vessels, enables

remote and autonomous

control of conventional boats.

Direct remote command

offers remote joystick control

of a boat, with a 1-kilometer

range. In autonomous

command mode, the Sea

Machines computer control

pilots a boat on a preplanned

or routine long-duration

mission with real-time

self-awareness to keep the

vessel on plane, on course,

and away from obstacles.

“The Sea Machines

300 opens a new world of

on-water operations provid-

ing multifold increases in

workboat safety, efficiency

and productivity,” says Sea

Machines CEO Michael G.

Johnson. “We are making

autonomous and remote

command a standardized

product that soon will be as

commonly deployed as radar

or chart-plotter systems.”

A bright-yellow Sea

Machines RIB with

“Unmanned Vessel” lettered

on its side was active all

summer in Boston Harbor,

outfitted with sensors and

self-navigating software to

test its systems.

Johnson, a marine engi-

neer who once went to the

Italian coast to help salvage

the sunken cruise ship Costa

Concordia, told the Asso-

ciated Press that the 2012

capsizing and other marine

disasters have convinced him

“we’re relying too much on

old-world technology.

“Humans get distracted,

humans get tired,” he says.

The Sea Machines 300 sys-

tem is available for order now

for retrofit or new builds,

according to the firm, with a

retail price of $98,500.

Autonomous boat naviga-

tion should be much easier to

develop than self-driving cars

because there are no pedes-

trians, no speed limits and

no curbs on the water. Most

ships already have electronic

controls that can be adapted.

—Charles Plueddeman

Coconut-powered

VHF radio

Cockpit

slip ’n’ slide

Engine-compartment

rotisserie cooker

Personal selfie

drone

FIVE NEW GADGETS YOU

(PROBABLY) WON’T SEE AT

THE NEXT BOAT SHOW

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