11–20 of 23 posts
Sounds like (hah) this is a job for cheap sea drones. Spread them out and have them listen and triangulate the location, and then go there with a human team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_surface_vehicle#Ocean...
although, just because we can, is it something we should?
The loneliness aspect of the whale tugs at my heartstrings. I know I am most likely romanticizing and anthropomorphizing nature, but still.
Sounds like (hah) this is a job for cheap sea drones. Spread them out and have them listen and triangulate the location, and then go there with a human team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_surface_vehicle#Ocean...
Sounds like (hah) this is a job for cheap sea drones. Spread them out and have them listen and triangulate the location, and then go there with a human team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_surface_vehicle#Ocean...
They're mentioned in your link, some additional references:
https://www.saildrone.com/>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saildrone_(company)>
Earlier HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16242380> (2018, 5 comments).
I've mentioned the firm a few times: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...>
Sounds like (hah) this is a job for cheap sea drones. Spread them out and have them listen and triangulate the location, and then go there with a human team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_surface_vehicle#Ocean...
Sounds like (hah) this is a job for cheap sea drones. Spread them out and have them listen and triangulate the location, and then go there with a human team. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_surface_vehicle#Ocean...
The cool thing about cheap sea drones is that they are still incredibly expensive to operate. Like, the only cost center they remove is the crew which is negligible compared to fuel, transport, and equipment.
Saildrone have produced at least 24 vessels: 20 in the Gulf of Mexico, four in the Baltic, and possibly others. There's a tender of $37 million with the US Coast Guard, and a market of $412 million as of 2024. This suggests a unit price on the order of about $10,000, which is downright cheap for any seaworthy craft.
"Exclusive: Saildrone Scores $37M BPA with USCG" https://www.tectonicdefense.com/exclusive-saildrone-scores-3...>
"Saildrone Surveyor USV Market Research Report 2033" (2024) https://growthmarketreports.com/report/saildrone-surveyor-us...>
My estimate may well be low. Ukraine's SeaBaby drone boats are reported to cost ~$250,000:
"Sea drones: What are they and how much do they cost?" (2023) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66373052>
The loneliness aspect of the whale tugs at my heartstrings. I know I am most likely romanticizing and anthropomorphizing nature, but still.
> The whale itself has never been sighted: it has only been heard via hydrophones, but its call has been detected since the late 1980s in a pattern that matches the migration of the blue whale and the fin whale. Those species call at 10 to 39 Hz and 20 Hz respectively.
So not only lonely, but sings in a falsetto by whale standards; a weirdo. A lonely fellow with a distinctly high-pitched voice.
The loneliness aspect of the whale tugs at my heartstrings. I know I am most likely romanticizing and anthropomorphizing nature, but still.
> recordings of a second 52-hertz whale, heard elsewhere at the same time, have been sporadically found since 2010.
The loneliness aspect of the whale tugs at my heartstrings. I know I am most likely romanticizing and anthropomorphizing nature, but still.
Whales are much more deeply connected emotionally to one another than we will ever be. And some species are probably as smart as we are.