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The article is not clearly written, but they say these things: 1. it will run at 50m depth in trade routes 2. it can work in shallow waters where container sh
by robotresearcher 5y ago
The article is not clearly written, but they say these things:
1. it will run at 50m depth in trade routes
2. it can work in shallow waters where container ship can not
So I think the idea is that it does not need deep-water port infrastructure, but will get deep and out of the way when it's out of port. So a big ship would never see it.
And it can potentially go under the polar ice.
- nradov 5y agoIt will run at 50m depth until something breaks and it loses depth keeping control with no one on board to effect repairs.
- oh_sigh 5y agoDoes that make it any different from the millions of pieces of flotsam/jetsam all over the ocean?
- topynate 5y agoSo what? It's unmanned. Worst case it sinks and the shipment is lost. By default it surfaces and waits for someone to come fix it.
- nradov 5y agoWorst case it surfaces without power and another vessel runs into it. Hitting a lost shipping container is bad enough. Hitting a submarine is likely to be worse since they're structurally much stronger. Getting a tow line onto that thing is going to be hazardous in any kind of rough weather. As often happens in the Irish Sea.
- goodpoint 5y agoInflating a bright-colored radio-reflecting balloon and triggering a radio beacon is really easy.
- BurningFrog 5y agoThey'll be out of the way of surface ships. But how will they be out of the way of each other? Solvable problem, but not without some complexity.