Saildrone Explorer

A 7 m wind-powered ocean drone with a solar-powered computer that sails itself between waypoints set from shore and can head home on its own, staying at sea up to a year. It carries about 15 weather, ocean and acoustic sensors.

Price: —Sold as data service; no public price
Autonomy: SupervisedHow it runs
Driverless: In serviceSince 2014
Fleet: —See details below
Speed: —Not published
Range: —Not published

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Why it matters

A saildrone completed the first autonomous circumnavigation of Antarctica in 2019, and SD 1021 became the first autonomous vehicle to cross the Atlantic in both directions the same year.

Real-world use

In 2019 one of a fleet launched from New Zealand sailed about 12,500 miles around Antarctica over seven months; in 2021 SD 1045 sailed into Hurricane Sam; Denmark deployed four Saildrones in the Baltic in June 2025.

Timeline

First shown: 2014
Released: Not yet

First Saildrone ocean crossing (proof of concept, per Saildrone timeline; model not named)

Maker

SaildroneCompany

How it drives

Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.

Driverless status: Driverless in service
Where it runs: Pacific, Atlantic, Southern Ocean, Arctic, Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes, Baltic
Driverless since: 2014
Fleet: Not published per model
Rides, miles or loads: Saildrone fleet total about 2.5 million nautical miles and 65,000 days at sea (Saildrone About page, 2026)

Public attention

How much public attention Saildrone Explorer gets, from open data.

No Wikipedia article of its own yet
No recent press stories listed yet

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

No component details published yet.

Movement: Other movement
How it runs: Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.

Lineage

Every Saildrone vehicle in order.

Made, sold and where

No production or sales figures published yet.

Price: Not publishedSold as data service; no public price
How to get one: No official buying page found

Sources

Figures come from the maker. Every link below backs something on this page.

Saildrone Saildrone Explorer Saildrone First autonomous vehicle to cross the Atlantic east to west Saildrone Saildrone Explorer product card Saildrone About Saildrone

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