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Robotic Sailing pp 3–23Cite as

History and Recent Developments in Robotic Sailing

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Abstract

Robotic sailing boats represent a rapidly emerging technology for various tasks on lakes and oceans. In this paper we give an overview about the main building blocks of a robotic sailing boat for controlling the rudder and the sails. History of robotic sailing includes developments in mechanical, electronic, and intelligent self-steering systems as well as automatic sail control. Furthermore advantages and disadvantages of rigid wing sails in comparison to traditional fabric sails are illuminated. Early examples of robotic sailing boats and recent developments, stimulated by robotic sailing competitions such as Microtransat Challenge, SailBot and World Robotic Sailing Championships are presented. We conclude with a brief outlook on potential applications in the field of robotic sailing.

Keywords

  • Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
  • Sailing Robot
  • Autonomous Sailing
  • Ocean Observation
  • Unmanned Surface Vehicle

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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  • DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-22836-0_1
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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Austrian Society for Innovative Computer Sciences, INNOC, Haussteinstraße 4/2, 1020, Vienna, Austria

    Roland Stelzer & Karim Jafarmadar

  2. Centre for Computational Intelligence, De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH, United Kingdom

    Roland Stelzer

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  1. Roland Stelzer
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  2. Karim Jafarmadar
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Robotics and Cognitive Systems, University of Luebeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23538, Lübeck, Germany

    Alexander Schlaefer

  2. Fachbereich Elektrotechnik und Informatik, University of Applied Sciences Luebeck, Mönkhofer Weg 239, 23562, Lübeck, Germany

    Ole Blaurock

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Stelzer, R., Jafarmadar, K. (2011). History and Recent Developments in Robotic Sailing. In: Schlaefer, A., Blaurock, O. (eds) Robotic Sailing. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22836-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22836-0_1

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