boats
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MIT tests autonomous 'Roboat' that can carry two passengers
MIT looked at the original Roboat as “quarter-scale” option, with the Roboat II being half-scale; they’re slowly working up to the point of a full-scale option that can carry four to six passengers.
China eyes floating nuclear power plants for remote locations
It's difficult to provide power to offshore projects like oil rigs and a recently built island chain in the South China Sea. However, China has a solution: floating nuclear power plants. According to the state-run newspaper Global Times, the vessels are being developed with the goal of providing electricity to offshore construction projects, even in remote locations. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, a state-run company, is working to build an entire fleet of the floating power plants citing strong demand for the ships.
Amazon is getting into the oceanic freight shipping game
Virtually every product produced in Asia comes to the US by boat and, as such, oceanic shipping has become a $350 billion industry. Now, Amazon wants a piece of that action. The online mega-retailer's China division has been awarded clearance by the Federal Maritime Commission to conduct ocean freight services as a licensed Ocean Transportation Intermediary. That means it can legally ship goods for other companies. The new service, dubbed Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), won't do much directly for individual consumers. However, it will allow Amazon's Chinese partners to more easily and cost-effectively get their products across the Pacific and into said customers waiting hands.
'Skylanders SuperChargers' takes to the skies, streets and sea
Imagine Mario Kart, Looney Tunes and Top Gear got together to plan a wild, rockin' birthday party for a 9-year-old. The result would probably resemble Skylanders SuperChargers, the latest game from Activision and Vicarious Visions, due to launch in North America on September 20th for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U and iPad. This is the first Skylanders game to feature vehicles in its toys-to-life lineup -- and we're not just talking cars.
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite MMO ship?
I finally got my ArcheAge fishing boat over the weekend, and now I'm setting my sights on bigger and better ship designs. And I'm doing a lot of fishing, naturally! I'm kinda partial to the Lutesong Junk, but then again the Eznan Cutter is pretty badass, too. What do you think -- what's your favorite in-game ship in ArcheAge or any other MMO? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Watch the US Navy's swarm of robotic boats take to the sea
Overwhelming numbers can help win a sea battle, but sailors are far too valuable to simply throw away -- and the US Navy knows it. To that end, it recently tested a swarm of robotic gunboats that work in tandem to either protect a main warship or surround the enemy. As you can see in the video below, they're very well coordinated. The vehicles' Control Architecture for Robotic Agent Command and Sensing (CARACaS) lets them both operate independently while sharing their paths and radar data with each other, keeping them both out of each others' way and aware of any potential threats.
Touch Racing 2 is a lot of fun to play
Touch Racing 2 is a free game for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. It requires iOS 5.0 or later, and is optimized for iPhone 5. Touch Racing 2 gives you the option to participate in speedcar, offroad, and boat ladder races against seven other computer controlled radio controlled vehicles. The user interface is one of the coolest for a racing game I've ever played. I liked the use of your fingers, positioned on each side of your screen, to drag the path for your R/C vehicles to take. It was a lot easier to control than the typical directional pad controls. This allows you to have a great advantage over the rest of the field, and a much better chance at finishing in first place. Cornering your R/C vehicles can be a bit difficult at first, but with enough practice you'll be drifting with the best of them. The speedcar ladder races rocked as you're allowed to whip around corners drift style, and earn nitro boosts throughout your two lap run. The offroad ladder races are a bit more difficult, but they are blast. The boat ladder races are a lot of fun because they're much different than the speedcar and offroad races. Daily races are extremely competitive, so bring your A game each day. It's a great way to quickly pickup more gold coins. The daily races feature the fastest speedcars, offroad, and boats. I preferred the speedcar races because I did the best at them. I didn't play the multiplayer head-to-head races because it required me to log into Facebook, so it could search for other Touch Racers to compete against me. I admit, this is a clever way to get other people hooked on the game. There are three different boss races where you face the speedcar boss, C.J., offroad boss, Norma, and boat boss, Wade. Make sure you've participated in enough daily races etc so you can earn gold coins to upgrade each one of your vehicles, or else you won't be able to compete against the bosses. Diamonds can be picked up a lot faster if you race and defeat the bosses. Touch Racing 2 offers up four tiers of excitement. You can only advance to the next tier if you've defeated the boss of each race with each R/C vehicle. When you earn gold coins and diamonds, you'll be able to upgrade the chassis, engine, body, tires, spoiler, and customize your R/C vehicles. Diamonds can be used to earn special items in the prize machine. The trick is you have no idea what you will receive. If arcade style R/C racing is your thing, then this is your game. Make sure not to overlook Touch Racing 2 for free in Apple app store because you won't regret it.
Black Desert getting naval transportation, combat
Fan site BlackDesert.com spoke to representatives from Pearl Abyss and Daum Communications at Gamescom. The resulting interview is worth a read, and it mentions that Black Desert will in fact be getting some sort of naval system. "Yes naval transportation and combat will be present in Black Desert Online," said Daum's Park Yoo Jin. "Players will be able to control boats and ships and depending on the kind of naval unit, there will be the possibility to board it with more than one person." Pearl Abyss had previously announced that it was adding naval combat at this year's E3, but thus far the systems have not been made available during Black Desert's Korea beta tests.
Tamriel Infinium: My love/hate relationship with Elder Scrolls Online
Quakecon was certainly interesting, wasn't it? Whether you're looking forward to new zones, the veteran system's extreme makeover, active world PvP via the thieving system, or combat upgrades, Elder Scrolls Online acquitted itself pretty well at this year's ZeniMax Media shindig. The reveals even led to positive ESO comment vibes here on Massively, which added some much-needed love to the love/hate relationship that everyone seems to have with this particular MMO. I've got my own twisted take on said dynamic, so join me after the cut to celebrate the good and ask for more of it.
World of Warships unveils E3 trailer
Between World of Warplanes and World of Tanks, Wargaming.net has your need for mechanized warfare covered. Almost, anyway. Sure, you can shoot at other planes and other tanks, but how are you going to also blow up a whole lot of boats? You can't... until World of Warships comes out, anyway. Then you can blow up war machines pretty much anywhere you want. So when is it coming out? That's still something of a secret, but it's obvious that World of Warships is the next game to get a big push from the studio, starting with this year's E3 trailer embedded just past the break. While the trailer doesn't include any in-game footage, it does give you a clear picture of what you'll be doing in the game -- shooting at boats from other boats. Actually, you probably could have guessed that one without the trailer.
Come sail away with this ArcheAge ship preview video
It seems as though there is a lot of buzz around ArcheAge's watercraft, although this impression may be caused by Massively's Jef running up and down the halls screaming, "They have rooooowboaaaaats!" on the half-hour. However, if you haven't seen what this upcoming title has in store with ships, check out the following video preview that demos several types, from small to big. Aly and The Professionals say that there can be a lot of fun on these "party boats;" however, "you should be aware that parties on the sea include being jumped by sea creatures, pirates, and over-excited guildmates who take full advantage of character collision by pushing you overboard." Give these crafted ships a watch after the break!
Dark Age of Camelot trims up paths, docks, and portals with a new patch
Are you looking to take a trip to scenic Agramon in Dark Age of Camelot? Then you'll definitely want to check out the latest patch notes. Agramon has been somewhat revamped with new docks and new paths into the center of the land, both from these new docks and from the milegates of each realm. And those aren't the only dock-based changes in the patch, at that; merchant docks have been moved further inland and renamed mainland docks, center keep docks are gone, and the rules for capturing mainland docks are different. Strength Relic Towns have also seen the addition of a new portal ceremony as well as various protections to keep the towns from being too easily captured. Players can also pick up new quests from the Agramon dockmasters involving killing players within Agramon... assuming, of course, that your realm controls one of the docks in Agramon. For the full details, read up on the official patch notes.
Darkfall patches in new boats, a new dungeon, and other improvements
Maybe you've already been on a boat in Darkfall Unholy Wars, but you haven't been on the newest boats. You couldn't have been. They've just been patched in today, allowing players new ways to be unstoppable due to their aquatic mode of transportation. But that's just the least of what's been changed in the latest patch being deployed today. In addition to having new boats, the patch features a new dungeon known as Svartvann as well as the new Darkbrood family, infesting Svartvann as well as Aldan Enak and Grivendale. There are also some noteworthy changes to Primalist spell functionality as well as a new skill meant to disable perpetual blocking. And you can have a new ship module if you can't get enough of aquatic antics. If none of the above strikes your fancy, you can at least enjoy the requisite bug fixes and UI updates that should make the game more fun to play for everyone. [Thanks to LanMandragon for the tip!]
Second Wind: Ultima Online
When I (legally) sold my Ultima Online accounts in 2000 for the hefty sum of $1800, the game was already three years old and being challenged by the likes of EverQuest and Asheron's Call. I thought I was done forever. My guild was eyeing Dark Age of Camelot, and I wanted to cash out and rid myself of the chore of maintaining a dozen grandfathered houses on the dying half of a shard struggling to find its footing in a post-open-PvP ruleset. I was wrong. A year later I was back in UO with a new account, prowling around Britannia. And the year after that. And every year since, only I never again made the mistake of selling my accounts even when I took extended breaks. It has a special magic that only a handful of MMOs have captured (let alone topped) since, and what it lacks in modern conveniences it often makes up for in unique features. The granddaddy of MMORPGs and one of the only true sandboxes still standing turns 16 this autumn, having survived EverQuest, World of Warcraft, the internet bubble, EA's blundering, Mythic's takeover, layoffs, price hikes, a recession, and disastrous design shifts. But is it still worth playing?
UPenn robots spring into action, save wooden hero (video)
Like you, we assumed that the University of Pennsylvania robotics team wouldn't be able to top the wow factor of that amazing video of Quadrocopters playing the James Bond theme, but if this doesn't best it, it sure comes close. Marvel as a quadrocopter, RC truck and a team of scale shipping-containers-turned-autonomous-robotic-boats band together to aid a wood artist's model. It's quite the site to behold, and according to the University, all the researchers have to do is tell the boats the final shape -- in this case a curved, floating bridge. Video's after the break.
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed into a new trailer
All the way from Cologne, Germany, where Gamescom is taking place this week, here's the newest trailer for Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, the upcoming kart (and boat and plane) racing game featuring the famous blue hedgehog and his crowd. Oh, and Wreck-It Ralph! And Danica Patrick, too.The racing looks awfully colorful, which should make Sonic and Sega fans very happy indeed. As the trailer says, the game's due to arrive on November 20. There are a few new screenshots for you to browse through as well; just take a left turn into the gallery below.%Gallery-162455%
FishPi sets course for the open sea, captained by a Raspberry Pi
Raspberry Pi's journey to reach owners has been a lengthy one, but Greg Holloway is preparing to send his board on a longer voyage -- one across the Atlantic. Nestled inside a tupperware tub, the RaspberryPi is the brains of FishPi, an autonomous vessel -- guided by GPS and a compass -- that measures 20 inches from bow to stern. Currently in proof-of-concept form, the craft uses a 40 mm rotating propeller and draws juice from batteries powered by a 130 watt solar panel. Producing kits for students, enthusiasts and professionals is the goal of the project, but testing and development are still on the docket. While the Linux-laden launch isn't ready for the high seas quite yet, you can sail to the source for the technical breakdown or check it out at the Nottingham Hackspace Raspberry Jam next month.
First solar-powered boat to circle the world pulls into home port, contemplates next move
It's been two years since we last heard of the 98-foot-long solar-powered boat, which at the time was gearing up for its big journey around the world. Well, some 19 months and 37,286 miles after setting sail from Monaco, the MS Turanor PlanetSolar has finally made it home. The PlanetSolar broke four Guinness world records along the way, including the all-important "first circumnavigation by solar-powered boat," and it made stops on six continents to promote solar energy. Oh, and the team fended off Somalian pirates in the process, too. Now that it has a moment to catch its breath and soak up some rays at leisure, the MS Turanor could become any number of things -- from the world's largest solar battery to a "green luxury yacht." The latter option would certainly befit its chichi home port.
XL Games teases new ArcheAge screenshots
ArcheAge may be a ways off from its North American and European debut, but that's not stopping fans of XL Games' upcoming sandpark from scouring the far corners of the web for the latest news. Today we've got a few new screenshots for you to ogle, and they cover everything from the fantasy title's stunning naturescapes, to some newly revealed personal-sized boats, to what appears to be one of the hang-gliders from the ChinaJoy trailer released earlier this year. Fan site ArcheAge Online has the details, and the source article says that XL is teasing these shots as a quick preview of what players can expect during the fourth phase of Korean closed beta testing. CBT4 doesn't have a fixed schedule as of yet, but we'll keep you up to date on it, as well as all the latest ArcheAge news as it happens.
Around the world in eight days: A journey in Wurm Online, part two
My journey around the world of Wurm Online continues on today through the second half of the trip. In yesterday's story, we explored the eastern and southern shores of the map's mainland, and now we get to see the western and northern shores in all their glory. Although that southwestern-most tip of land is heavily populated, you're back to desolation when you make your way up into the cliff faces of the western shore. I spent one night in the side of a rocky mountain, only slightly protected from the elements as I chiseled my way into the rock just enough for a fire and shelter for the night. I decided to roleplay a bit during the trip, setting up proper shelter before I logged out of the game for the day. What's funny about this particular shelter is the fact that I discovered a very rare diamond only three squares into the cave. I've dug entire mazes of underground mines and never found a diamond before, so this was a sure sign that the rest of the trip was going to be bountiful. And it was! Follow along below for more.%Gallery-120997%
