Limited energy supply is a key factor constraining the operational capability of marine robots. The ocean contains abundant renewable energy resources, including wind and wave energy, and harvesting and utilizing energy from the marine environment provides an effective solution to the energy limitations of marine robotic systems.
Autonomous sailboat is a novel unmanned surface vehicle powered by marine renewable energy. It converts wind energy directly into propulsive force through its sail, while solar panels generate electricity for the control system and onboard payloads. By alleviating the constraints associated with limited energy supply, autonomous sailboats are capable of continuous, year-round operation and have become an important research vehicle in the field of marine robotics.
Autonomous sailboats also offer high-resolution autonomous sampling and observation capabilities. Their flexible and efficient deployment can help address the scarcity of in situ oceanographic data. Moreover, through adaptive sampling and their ability to observe ocean processes across multiple spatial and temporal scales, autonomous sailboats provide a new observational approach capable of delivering high-resolution in situ measurements at spatial scales below 1 km, thereby supporting the investigation of mesoscale and submesoscale ocean processes. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, autonomous sailboats served as an effective automated observation method that did not require personnel to be present on site. They were used to perform scientific observation missions in place of crewed research vessels and demonstrated significant advantages in large-scale monitoring of environmental variables at the air–sea interface.
This presentation introduces the Seagull autonomous sailboat developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, with a focus on key technologies including sailing performance prediction, intelligent navigation control, and multidisciplinary design optimization. Based on results from sea trials of the Seagull autonomous sailboat, its two core capabilities upwind sailing and station keeping are presented, together with the platform’s preliminary applications in oceanographic observation. Finally, future research directions are discussed, particularly with regard to adaptability to complex sea conditions and coordinated multi-platform observation.