HALIFAX, NS—After a voyage lasting 40 days and covering approximately 3,500 nautical miles, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) safely arrived here. The 49-foot trimaran departed Plymouth, England, with no human captain or onboard crew. Instead, MAS was equipped with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology and automated navigation systems.

The ship was designed and built by marine research nonprofit ProMare, with IBM Corp. acting as lead technology and science partner. AI and edge computing technologies guided the vessel and made real-time decisions while at sea, which enabled MAS to safely navigate around buoys, cargo ships and other ocean hazards.

Six onboard cameras, 15 edge devices and more than 30 sensors were monitored by a land-based crew during the voyage. The devices provided input for the AI Captain to interpret and analyze.

To learn more about autonomous ships, click here.