On Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 11:12:50PM +0000, Hugh Barrass (hbarrass) wrote:
> The POCV is a Proof Of Concept Vehicle. It's just a toy that is designed for
> cruising a lake for ~2 hours.
>
> He's still in the early planning stage for the one that
> might/could/potentially/maybe cross the Atlantic. The idea is that a small
> computer could contain a simple algorithm that will self-navigate (with GPS
> etc.) a tremendously long distance (not a huge stretch); a simple solar
> collector and drive train could power a vehicle for as long as the life of
> the hardware (a proven concept); and, of course, a lot of patience.
A phrase often seen for cases like this in the RISKS Digest - a list of
people highly experienced in engineering/aviation/computer risks and
failures - is "WHAT COULD *POSSIBLY* GO WRONG?" :)
Equipment failures
Salt encrustation on camera lenses (looks like an obstruction!)
Seagulls crapping on the solar panel
Bad weather
*REALLY* bad weather
Ships trying to "help" the poor lost boat
Fishermen, etc. who'd love a nice camera/GPS/computer/solar panel
Floating trash fouling the boat
A marlin that sees a nice little snack moving on the surface
[add 10000+ more non-predictable obstacles...]
Ben
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