Saildrone, Inc. (USA) Saildrone Explorer (1)

Not soldOffered as a fully managed service (data or mission delivery) rather than a vehicle for sale.

Not for sale (research)Not programmableWind-powered12+ month missionsLease/data serviceNOAA partner

Not soldShipping: Not sold. Not sold to individuals. Government and commercial customers contract Saildrone for missions or data. Saildrone ↗

Remote control: Not possible. Vehicles are piloted by Saildrone's own operations team; customers only receive the data.

Official page ↗Wikipedia ↗Company history ↗

Overview

The best-known long-endurance ocean drone, a 7 m wind-powered sailboat that stays at sea for a year collecting weather and ocean data. Founded by Richard Jenkins in 2012, Saildrone made its first proof-of-concept ocean crossing in 2014 and has since run NOAA and NASA missions, including an autonomous Antarctic circumnavigation (2019) and hurricane observations. The company has since added the larger Voyager and 20 m Surveyor vehicles and shifted its focus toward defense and maritime surveillance.

Specifications

Category	Swimming robots · Surface & autonomous boats
Released	2014
Availability	Not for sale (research)
Programmability	No programmability
Best for	Professionals & labs
Vision sensors	Camera
Actuators	Other
Audio	No audio
Compute type	Proprietary / undisclosed
Remote control	Not programmable
Size	7 m long, 5 m wing height; weight not published
Propulsion	Wind-powered rigid wing (Saildrone Wing), solar-powered electronics
Depth rating	Surface only (2 m draft)
Tether / comms	None; satellite communications
Camera	Smart camera array
Sensors	Wind speed/direction, air temperature/humidity, pressure, sea surface temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, CO2, chlorophyll, wave height/period, ocean currents, seafloor depth, fish biomass, AIS
Runtime	12+ months endurance
Speed	1–3 knots average
Compute	Not published
SDK	None for vehicle control; data delivered through the Saildrone Mission Portal and API