The state-of-the-art boat is to use renewable energy sources and cross the Atlantic Ocean on its own. Students from the Wrocław University of Technology’s Robotics Research Group are working on its design. It is due to set sail on its first voyage in November 2025.
The boat’s design was created in response to the Microtranst competition, already announced in 2025, which aims to create unmanned sailboats that can cross the Atlantic Ocean autonomously. The small-scale designs must be no more than 2.4 metres long and 30 prototype vessels have already been built in recent years. Only one team has succeeded in achieving its goal. In 2018, the SB Met boat from the Norwegian company Offshore Sensing sailed from Newfoundland to Ireland. The route was completed in 79 days. Now young Polish engineers have a chance to succeed.
Success for students of the Wrocław University of Technology
A team from the Wrocław University of Technology is competing in the event in the robotics category, which involves remotely sending commands to the boat, such as changing course. The boat of their project is to cover the route from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean this year. The mission could succeed because the team has a lot of experience. The students took third place in the CanSat International Space Probe Competition in the USA in June 2024.
We were looking for something new, this time related to water, and we came across information about the Microtransat competition. We have a lot of experience with electronics, robotics and automation, as well as sailing, as most of the team is certified, so we thought it was worth a try. Our sailing experience will certainly come in handy during the testing phase to check and assess whether the boat will actually be able to control the direction of the swim,” says Wojciech Bohdan, project coordinator, a student at the Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems.
The students were assisted in designing the hull by others from the Wrocław University of Technology’s Solar Boat Team, who specialise in this type of construction.
The robotic boat will be one metre long. For the time being, the students have prepared its digital design. The hull and daggerboard fin will be made of stainless steel. This is expected to have a positive effect on the stability of the structure and enable it to lift itself in the event of capsizing during the voyage. There will be a small sail in the bow of the structure, which will be made of fibreglass and composites. Powering the boat will be provided by four sets of photovoltaic panels and batteries. The systems are to operate independently of each other, which will come in handy if one of the components fails.
The boat will cross the Atlantic on its own
We are currently working on a suitable battery that will autonomously draw energy from the panel, store it and transfer it to the boat. According to preliminary calculations, it takes about three days to charge one such battery and the stored energy allows for two to four weeks of operation. With four sets and good conditions, this gives us up to several months of energy,’ explains Jakub Lemanski, Embedded programmer on the project and a student majoring in industrial automation.
The vessel will be equipped with a satellite communication system and a GPS system to track its location. The students estimate that, depending on weather conditions, the boat will take between two and five months to sail from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. The construction of the boat could cost £20,000 and the implementation of the entire project around £50,000.
This is our first of its kind and reliability will be key to the project. The minimum plan is to sail about a thousand kilometres, but if nothing unexpected happens, we hope to cover the entire distance,’ Jakub Lemanski concludes.
source: Wrocław University of Technology, Wrocław University of Technology Robotics Scientific Association
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