=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2331/preface
|storemode=property
|title=None
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2331/preface.pdf
|volume=Vol-2331
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==None==
<pdf width="1500px">https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2331/preface.pdf</pdf>
<pre>
Preface

In the words of Kenneth Grahame “there is nothing–absolutely nothing–half so much worth doing as simply
messing about in boats.” With that in mind, the 2018 International Robotic Sailing Conference (IRSC) and World
Robotic Sailing Championship (WRSC), hosted by the University of Southampton, was no exception!
This year’s event, not only marked the 10th anniversary of WRSC & IRSC, but also coincided with a long awaited
success: the first robotic sailing vessel to successfully complete the Microtransat challenge, the first crossing of
the Atlantic Ocean since the competition conception in 2005. The WRSC event, which ran from 26th August
through to the 1st September 2018 was held at the historical Calshot Hanger – a split of land extending into the
Solent, just outside Southampton. An area renowned for sailing, the hovercraft, the Spitfire and the Titanic. This
provided a spectacular backdrop for the 5 day competition, with a variety of Ocean liners, cruise ships, container
ships, ferries and yachts passing by as they came into and out of Southampton!
With industry and research in the maritime sector increasingly focusing on algorithms for planning and control
of vehicles as part of collaborative tasks, WRSC and the development of autonomous boats through friendly
competition continue to become more prominent and important. Inspired by the collaborative missions of surface
and underwater vehicles demonstrated by the National Oceanography Centre and ASV global, the difficulty of
the area scanning challenge was increased by making it a collaborative task. This lead to, in one afternoon, an
impressive 28 000+ square metres being scanned at a resolution of 4 m x 4 m.
Following the World Robotic Sailing Championship, the International Robotic Sailing Conference provided a
forum to further discuss and share both WRSC vessel designs (including sensor developments, modelling and
control methods) as well as discuss the development of maritime autonomous vehicles more widely. The 2 day
conference, hosted at the University of Southampton Boldrewood Campus, included presentations of the eleven
peer reviewed papers (published here). In addition a series of lighting talks, discussion sessions, and further
discussions during the conference dinner and tour of the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) inspired the
competitors and researchers for next year’s event.
The editors would like to thank all authors, the Program Committee, the Southampton volunteers, the University
of Southampton, the National Oceanography Centre, ASV global and all other sponsors whose contribution made
the 2018 IRSC and WRSC possible. Thank you!




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</pre>