Autonomously Into the Eye of the Storm: Saildrone Launches Its Solar-Powered Autonomous Craft Into The Heart Of Hurricane Idalia To Gather Previously Unaccessible Data

As Hurricane Idalia barreled toward Florida, a California-based Saildrone Inc. launched an autonomous sea vehicle into the eye of the storm. 

Saildrone worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this summer to launch 12 more unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) dedicated to hurricane research. It placed a USV into Hurricane Idalia in late August before the storm reached the Florida coast. The vehicle recorded a wealth of data points during this excursion, including video captures of more than 20-foot tall waves and other metrics that will help improve storm forecasting.

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The Saildrone USV uses wind-powered propulsion to sustainably reach its destinations. The company was able to put the vehicle in the path of Idalia because it was already deployed in the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of storm season. 

The Saildrone team calibrated the projected path and was able to navigate the USV toward the storm to collect valuable data. Captured data points include barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, humidity, water salinity, wave heights, air and water temperature and other metrics. It can relay this stream of data to researchers at the NOAA and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). 

The autonomous sail drones transmit high-frequency data, including barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, air and water temperatures, humidity, salinity, wave heights and sea surface temperatures. This continuous data streams to researchers at PMEL and NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) throughout hurricanes and tropical storms. 

The vehicle's solar-powered data collection meteorological and oceanographic sensors can gather various information in harsh conditions without putting human lives at risk. It can operate autonomously for up to a year, allowing it to generate a wide range of data points for scientists, mapping companies or security reviews, such as for shipping companies crossing dangerous areas.  Each vessel features four onboard cameras, an automatic identification system (AIS) transceiver, a radar reflector, navigation lights and high-visibility bright orange wings. It uses an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered onboard computer to merge various data streams and perform complex computations that it can turn into digestible and actionable information. It does this through its own portal that offers real-time data that clients can use for a variety of objectives.

According to Saildrone's website, the company's vehicles have spent nearly 25,000 days at sea and traveled nearly 1 million nautical miles to generate mapping, security and climate data. Saildrone offers a range of USVs tailored for diverse applications, including the aptly named crafts the Explorer, Voyager, and Surveyor models. 

The Explorer is the smallest of the three and specializes in ocean and climate data collection, autonomously gathering and processing metocean metrics before transmitting them to data storage and visualization servers. The Voyager and Surveyor perform shorter missions, typically ocean mapping trips, of up to three months. The company works with private enterprises and government agencies. 

Saildrone's efforts are part of other initiatives to improve maritime vessels with technology. Other companies throughout the world offer a range of related technology advancements for seafaring vessels. These include self-driving craft such as ferries and autonomous cargo ships that follow set routes and can use various sensors to monitor weather conditions and maintain distance from other vessels. 
Another company leading the way with data robotic autonomy is AvaWatz, a company that enables robots to work as collaborative teams and works with the U.S. Air Force and Army among other entities.

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