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Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science · 2026
Sailing forward: A review of contrasts and synergies between racing and robotic sailing
Yang An, Jean-Baptiste RG Souppez, Zhikang Ge, Bo Peng, Mengwei Zhang, Gaofei Xu, and Zhengru Ren*. (2026). "Sailing forward: A review of contrasts and synergies between racing and robotic sailing." Journal of Ocean Engineering and Science.
摘要 / Abstract
现代风力航行大体沿两条主线发展：一是在级别规则与赛事约束下追求极限性能的竞技帆船，二是面向长航时海洋观测的自主机器人帆船。二者物理基础一致，但在平台形态、运行目标与学术社群上高度分离，关键成果往往局限于各自领域，部分内容更因竞赛保密而难以公开交流，系统化的交叉比较因而长期不足。
本文基于作者在机器人与竞技帆船两侧的研究经验，开展专家导向的综合评述与对照分析。历史脉络方面，竞技侧涵盖评级体系、复合材料、速度预报程序（VPP）与计算流体力学（CFD）工作流，以及近期水翼技术的发展；机器人侧则经历概念探索、竞赛驱动的工程化，以及以 Saildrone Surveyor 等为代表的规模化与任务化阶段。技术分析按四级递进展开：部件性能评价为整船建模提供基础，建模支撑运动控制，控制进一步支撑反应式导航与气象航路规划。每一层级均采用统一的五指标框架（迁移潜力、成熟度领先方、主要受益方、当前迁移程度与主要障碍）评估方法转移的可能性与条件。综合讨论揭示了关键协同点与结构性分歧，并为风助船舶推进等相邻领域提供了可资借鉴的对照框架。
Modern wind-driven navigation has developed along two principal lines: competitive racing, which maximises performance under class and event constraints, and autonomous robotic sailing for persistent ocean observation. Despite a shared physical basis, the two domains differ markedly in platform characteristics, operational objectives, and research communities. Foundational results often remain confined within each community, and some findings are withheld for competitive reasons, leaving systematic comparative analyses scarce.
Drawing on complementary expertise in robotics and racing, this perspective-driven review provides an expert synthesis and comparative account. Historically, racing is traced through rating systems, composite materials, velocity prediction program (VPP) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) workflows, and the recent foiling revolution; robotic sailing is framed through emergent, developmental, and application stages, culminating in the operationalisation and upscaling of platforms such as the Saildrone Surveyor. Technically, the review proceeds through four hierarchical dimensions: component performance evaluation underpins overall vessel modelling, which in turn supports motion control and, subsequently, high-level reactive navigation and weather-aware routing. At each level, a consistent five-metric framework—potential for transfer, maturity leadership, principal beneficiary, current level of transfer, and main obstacles—is applied to assess methodological transferability. The synthesis identifies critical synergies and structural divergences, and offers a comparative reference for adjacent communities such as wind-assisted ship propulsion.