The Mayflower Autonomous Ship attempting to cross the Atlantic unmanned has turned back after developing a mechanical fault.

Project leaders described the fault as “just a minor mechanical issue”. 

The autonomous ship set sail on Tuesday June 15, but developed the fault and turned back on Thursday June 17.

The 50ft (15m) long solar-powered trimaran is capable of speeds of up to 10 knots (20km/h) and is being navigated by on-board artificial intelligence (AI) with information from six cameras and 50 sensors.

Project director Brett Phaneuf described the fault as “just a minor mechanical issue on a part you’d find on any boat. But it limited our speed such that coming back was the prudent course of action”.

According to Phaneuf, “The AI systems worked perfectly though. We will assess, repair and go again”.

The journey across the Atlantic ocean is expected to take approximately three weeks, with first landing at Provincetown, MA. The ship will then make its way to the US port of Plymouth.

The original Mayflower was a 100ft (30m) triple-masted sailing ship with a top speed of three knots (6km/h). In 1620, the ship sailed from Rotherhithe in London to Plymouth, England and then on to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30. The 1620 crossing took over two months.

The ship is an effort by a consortium led by ocean research non-profit ProMare and IBM to gather data about the ocean. The consortium includes dozens of companies and universities.

Research will focus on marine mammals, micro plastics, ocean chemistry, sea level height and wave patterns.

The research vessel uses IBM’s automation, AI and edge computing technologies to assess its status, environment and mission and make decisions about what to do next while at sea. 

People from all over the world can follow the ship’s progress via the mission dashboard which includes live video, maps and data streaming.

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship is designed to help scientists gather the data on ocean health including ocean acidification, microplastics and marine mammal conservation. One of the pieces of scientific equipment on MAS is Hypertaste – an ‘electronic tongue’ developed by IBM Research.

The project aims to aid the development of fully autonomous AI systems and applications for use in a variety of industries such as shipping, oil and gas, telecommunications, security and defence, fishing and aquaculture.