Scout: The Autonomous Transatlantic Boat

Daniel Flanigan joins us to discuss Scout, a twelve foot long autonomous robotic boat designed to cross the Atlantic Ocean, relying only on pre-programmed commands and information that it can collect about its environment through sensors.

According to the project website, “It is built to deal with anything the ocean can throw at it” — and its status will be reported live online.

Check out the build page to see how Scout is being constructed. The project started in February of 2011, with plans to launch soon. Check the blog for the most recent updates.

And here’s the fun part: Most of the team members are 21 years old, or younger.