Saildrone

An uncrewed surface vehicle on the water. It has a horizontal silver unit with multiple solar panels and a large orange sail with solar panels rising vertically, and a rudder running parallel to the sea. — Surveyor is in charge of deep-water ocean mapping. Photo: Saildrone

Saildrone designs, builds, and operates three classes of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) capable of providing year-round ocean intelligence. Each USV class is designed for a specific task: Explorer for ocean data collection, Voyager for maritime security, and Surveyor for deep-water ocean mapping.

Creator

Saildrone Inc.

Year

2015

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Aquatic

Features

Saildrone in the Arctic Ocean. Video: Saildrone

Did you know?

Saildrone vehicles have sailed in every ocean on Earth.

An uncrewed surface vehicle on the water. It has a horizontal orange body with multiple solar panels and a large orange sail rising vertically, and a rudder running parallel to the sea. — Voyager handles maritime security. Photo: Saildrone

History

Saildrone was founded by Richard Jenkins, who spent 10 years developing wind-powered vehicles in an effort to break the land speed record. After achieving that goal in 2009—in Nevada, with a speed of 126.2 mph—Jenkins decided to apply his wind-related technologies to uncrewed vehicles capable of collecting ocean data. Saildrone vehicles have now sailed in every ocean on Earth. In 2019, Saildrone completed the first autonomous circumnavigation of Antarctica, collecting critical data about air/sea carbon exchange along the way.

An orange uncrewed surface vehicle consisting of a horizontal unit on the water, with a large sail with solar panels rising vertically, and a rudder running parallel to the sea. — Explorer manages ocean data collection. Photo: Saildrone

Specs

Overview: Powered by renewable wind and solar energy. Vehicles operate 24/7/365 without the need for a crewed support. As of 2022, vehicles have sailed 1,000,000+ nautical miles and spent 25,000+ days at sea. Able to withstand the harshest ocean conditions on the planet. Missions include climate data gathering, fish and marine mammals tracking and surveys, hurricane monitoring, mapping, satellite calibration, and more.
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2015
Website: saildrone.com
Width: 70 cm
Height: 650 cm
Length: 700 cm
Weight: 700 kg
Speed: 4 km/h
Sensors: Explorer: Gill Windmaster 3D Ultrasonic 20 Hz, Rotronic HC2 - S3 with rad shield, Vaisala Barocap PTB210, LI-COR LI-192SA, Seabird SBE 37, Wetlabs ECO-FL-S G4, Heitronics CT 15.10, NOAA PMEL ASVCO2 (pCO2), Teledyne RDI Workhorse ADCP 300 kHz, Simrad WBT Mini (EK80), Airmar DT800, Teledyne Echotrac E20, Simrad WBT Mini.
Materials: Fiberglass with carbon composite structural features.
Power: Primarily wind (propulsion) and solar (sensors, nav, and comms). The Voyager and Surveyor also have a high-efficiency diesel generator and propeller to provide additional power for light-wind/low-solar conditions.
Cost: Data services for sale