Transatlantic Robot Boat Appears to Be Adrift

Byline: Log News Service TIVERTON, RI (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — Scout, a 12-foot autonomous robotic solar-powered boat that has traveled more than 2,000 miles since it left Tiverton, Rhode Island Aug. 24 — in an attempt to cross the Atlantic to Spain — appears to be adrift and moving fully with the seas. The bad news was posted by a member of Scout’s shore team on its website Oct 11. “Scout appears to be adrift and moving fully with the seas, at this point,” the announcement said. “It has had a couple of sunny days to recharge — if these systems were working. The best guess at this point is some sort of electrical or software failure on board, with the Arduino processors. “It is gong to be very difficult to pinpoint the actual failure until we (hopefully) recover the boat,” the shore team added. “Anyone know the weather in the Azores mid-winter? Anyone know anyone with a boat in the Azores?” Scout was designed and built by a group of young college students to cross the Atlantic relying on pre-programmed commands and information that it can collect about its environment through sensors. Although it transmits information back to shore via satellite, it doesn’t receive...