Robots are always ahead or at least along with mankind in every walk of life. And not only walk but also in the sail of life. Latest news is that an unmanned automated boat, known as ‘Pinta the robot’, is gearing up be the first robot to cross an ocean using the power of wind. Designed by scientists at Aberystwyth University in UK, Pinta will join seven other robotic craft in the month of October in a race across the Atlantic. This will put the robots to test for their capabilities to survive without battery chargers and technical assistance. Pinta will use solar panels to provide the power to operate a robot arm on the tiller, and a pulley system to change the angle of the sail. However, these panels may not be able to porvide little power to run an engine and batteries would run out in days or hours. By sailing non-stop and unassisted for an estimated three months, it will prove the potential for robotic craft to undertake vital research in roles in dangerous and far-off waters. Pinta will have a maximum speed of 4 knots but with a 2.5 knots average speed it is expected to take three months to reach a strait between Martinique and St Lucia. The boat is a smaller, cheaper version of a more elaborate robot sailing boat, Beagle B, and is being used to prove that the onboard technology works. If it manages to cross from the Portuguese coast to the Caribbean the scientists who built it hope to risk Beagle B, which cost £40,000, on a long-distance journey. The 150kg Pinta is being used instead of Beagle B because it costs only £2,500. Via – MumbaiMirror
