OVO

Mechanical engineering students from ETH Zurich have developed an unmanned sailing boat in a focus project that can reach any given destination completely autonomously. The Avalon robot sailing boat is due to set sail from Ireland in the fall and head for the Caribbean.

[Article continues at link. This is a grand invention for leisure. But it is also immediately applicable to more practical ends. If the sea was peppered with autonomous sail boats that could be remotely programmed, search and rescue operations would be improved. So would scientific research, including climate research. A few dozen robo-boats might do the job of one large tanker. These are exciting times. - Trevor]