Welcome to the 10th annual World Robotic Sailing Championship – Join the race!
The University College of Southeast Norway (USN) is pleased to invite you to the World Robotic Sailing Championship and International Robotic Sailing Conference (WRSC & IRSC) from 4-8 September 2017 in Horten, Norway. We are thrilled to host and organize the robotic regatta for the first time in Norway.
The WRSC is open to fully autonomous and unmanned sailboats up to 4.2m in length. The accompanying IRSC at the USN campus provides a venue for presenting and discussing scientific challenges with autonomous sailing.
The WRSC will take place in Horten from 4-7 September. Horten lies on the western shore of the Oslo fjord, about 100km south of Oslo. Horten has a long tradition of both shipbuilding and the development of maritime technology.
Robotic Sailing
Autonomous robotic sailboats using wind, solar or wave energy for propulsion have many useful applications in the maritime domain. Oceangoing zero-energy vessels can travel long distances by wind energy to gather environmental data from the sea and air, monitor pollution and conduct other surveys. Inshore applications of sailing robots include border surveillance, traffic monitoring, assistance, and rescue.
One of the most challenging aspects of robotic sailboats is the ability to operate in adverse weather and various wave conditions. Systems for self-navigation of these robots with route planning and collision avoidance offer yet another challenge of making robust autonomous sailing vessels.
The WRSC and IRSC will gather professionals and students from around the world with common interests in overcoming these challenges.
The Competition
The championship will include two classes, a micro-sailboat (MS) and a sailboat (S) category.
MS-category:
The micro-sailboat category is for autonomous sailboats up to 1.5 m LOA and weighing no more than 100 kg
S-category:
The sailboat category is for sailboats up to 4.2 m LOA, and 5 meters high (keel tip to mast tip) and weighing no more than 500 kg.
The rules for the competition: Rules for WRSC 2017
Regatta outline
Monday September 4th - Fleet Race
The sailboats compete around the course - the first to complete wins!
Tuesday September 5th - Station Keeping
Stay in place for 5 minutes (virtual anchoring), then sail on!
Wednesday September 6th - Area Scanning
Navigate to cover as much of the designated area as possible during 30 minutes!
Thursday September 7th - Collision avoidance
The last competition is detect and avoid an obstacle!
Dinner banquet and awards in the evening.
Friday September 8th - International Robotic Sailing Conference
A day of technical talks and presentations of research papers.