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Hamilton Spectator
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
The Monaco Energy Boat Challenge enters a new era with AI on board
MONACO, July 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Forty-two teams, twenty nations, 29 universities and more than one thousand students involved. These are the numbers of the 12th edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (1-5 July), the event dedicated to the future of yachting organised by Yacht Club de Monaco, with the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, UBS, BMW and SBM Offshore. The goal of the Challenge, which bridges the gap between academic research and the boating industry, is to rethink maritime mobility under real conditions. 'This year there is more people, more boats, more involvement of the industry. Plus, we have a new category, a new Class named AI. Not only Artificial intelligence, but also having some boats that are representing the drone industry, the boat can do some maneuvers themselves, they can dock themselves, they can go for missions themselves, so something very new. And after there is plenty of innovation,' explained Jeremie Lagarrigue president of the Jury Committee. 'We have AI directly integrated into the battery management system in order to optimize the management of energy on board. We have also a new internal combustion engine running on hydrogen that might be a good option for the yacht industry on retrofit and more and more hydrogen with fuel cell technology involving, having a less weight, better performance and starting to be more and more competitive with the battery technology,' added Lagarrigue. Divided into four categories, teams explore technologies for yachting's future: AI Class where the focus is on autonomous boats piloted by artificial intelligence; Energy Class which tests technologies aboard standardised hulls; SeaLab Class, floating laboratories of experimentation with focus this year on pioneering hydrogen technologies; Open Sea Class which showcases CE-certified zero-emission prototypes up to 25m that can take at least 3 people. Of all projects competing, 30 boats are powered by electricity, 12 operate on hydrogen and 12 prototypes will be on foils. The big news is the Artificial Intelligence debut on board. In the AI Class, the Polish from AGH Solar Boat are combining LiDAR, 3D cameras and use of advanced AI algorithms running on a Jetson Orion computer. The Hungarian team, BME Solar Boat Team, features a lightweight solar electric racing boat, optimised for autonomous navigation, powered by advanced electric propulsion systems and onboard AI-driven electronics. 'The main focus of the AI class is to develop and implement autonomous boats that have to complete full autonomous tasks using different type of technology, sensor and AI techniques. The introduction of AI this year is very important because it helps to push the technology to its boundaries and it helps to facilitate the introduction of innovation in all of sectors,' said Maria Marcello, who is on the AI Technical Committee. In the Energy Class, Sambuk Racing from Qatar University make their first appearance and will be using a solid-state lithiun battery, the first of this kind of technology in the history of the Challenge. In the SeaLab Class, from Scotland, Heriot-Watt University has integrated a solid-state hydrogen storage system, safer and more compact. In addition, Plus Zero will be testing a hydrogen internal combustion engine for the first time in the Challenge. Besides that, they use solid state hydrogen storage which uses chemical reaction with water to release hydrogen. For more information: Press Office LaPresse - A photo accompanying this announcement is available at A video accompanying this announcement is available at
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Images capturing a starving lion, fighting bison and pit of vipers honored in environmental photography awards
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Jaw-dropping images capturing the natural world, including an aging captive lion as well as an elephant wading through plastic, have been revealed as the winners and runners-up of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation's 2025 Environmental Photography Award. The annual photography competition is split into five categories: Polar Wonders, Into the Forest, Ocean Worlds, Humanity versus Nature, and Change Makers: Reasons for Hope. A shot of marine worms pushing plumes of sand from the tops of their cone-shaped burrows, captured by Angel Fitor in Spain in 2023, won the Ocean Worlds category and the overall grand prize, the foundation announced Tuesday (May 6). "These burrowing worms play a pivotal role in maintaining oxygen and nutrient circulation in the upper layer of sediment on the seabed, an activity that generates an entire ecosystem hidden under the substrate," Fitor said in a statement. "On location, it was impossible to predict when the worms would be active. This photo is the result of two months' work, with twenty dives of five hours each." Image 1 of 3 "Unseen Unsung Heroes," by Angel Fitor, winner of the Overall Grand Prize and winner of the Ocean Worlds category. Image 2 of 3 "The Passenger," by Pietro Formis, runner-up in the Ocean Worlds category. Image 3 of 3 "Portrait of a Leafy Seadragon," by Daniel Sly, runner-up in the Ocean Worlds category. Runners-up in this category included an image of a tiny octopus delicately balanced on top of jellyfish-like animals named salps, snapped in the Philippines in 2024 by Pietro Formis, and an eerie image of a leafy sea dragon off the Australian coast, photographed by Daniel Sly in 2024. The winning image in the Polar Wonders category was a spectacular shot of a lion's mane jellyfish. The photo was taken off the coast of Greenland in 2019 by Galice Hoarau. "Autumn in the East Greenland fjords is teeming with life, especially planktonic species ranging from tiny copepods to large jellyfish such as this lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) with its long stinging tentacles drifting elegantly through the water," Hoarau said in the statement. Related: Milky Way gallery: See awe-inspiring images of our galaxy A melting iceberg drifting in the waters off Iceland, taken by Michaël Arzur in 2024, and a battle between two female musk oxen (Ovibos moschatus) in Norway, snapped by Miquel Angel Artús Illana in 2021, were named runners-up in this category. Image 1 of 3 "Jellyfish and Iceberg," by Galice Hoarau, winner in the Polar Wonders category. Image 2 of 3 "Ephemeral," by Michaël Arzur, runner-up in the Polar Wonders category. Image 3 of 3 "Female Fight," by Miquel Angel Artús Illana, runner-up in the Polar Wonders category. A photo capturing a fierce fight between two male stag beetles, taken by Iacopo Nerozzi in Italy in 2022, won the Into the Forest category. "During the mating season, male stag beetles (Lucanus cervus) go into a frenzy, with lively but harmless clashes, in which bigger males often have the advantage over smaller ones due to their impressive mandibles," Nerozzi said in the statement. David Herasimtschuk's image of an adult and several juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), taken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 2023, and Santiago J. Monroy García's photograph of an Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) lurking in the Colombian forest, captured in 2023, were named runners-up. Image 1 of 3 "Clash of Kings," by Iacopo Nerozzi, winner in the Into the Forest category. Image 2 of 3 "Coho Salmon in a Log Structure," by David Herasimtschuk, runner-up in the Into the Forest category. Image 3 of 3 "God in the Shadows," by Santiago J. Monroy García, runner-up in the Into the Forest category. In the Humanity versus Nature category, the winner was a picture taken by Amy Jones in 2023. It shows an elderly female Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) named Salamas on a tiger farm in northern Thailand. "For over 20 years, she was confined in this cage and used as a breeding machine, producing cubs for industries ranging from tiger tourism to the illegal trade in skins, teeth, bones, claws and meat," Jones said in the statement. "Despite her frail and emaciated condition, Salamas survived the 12-hour journey to their 17-acre tiger sanctuary forest, where she was able to roam freely and experience grass beneath her paws and the warmth of the sun on her fur for the first time in two decades. Unfortunately, Salamas died nine months after being rescued." An image of an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) wading through a soup of plastic waste in Sri Lanka, taken by Lakshitha Karunarathna in 2023, and a photo of rattlesnakes piled up in a pit in Texas, taken by Javier Aznar in 2020, were the runners-up. Image 1 of 3 "Breeding Machine," by Amy Jones, winner in the Humanity versus Nature category. Image 2 of 3 "Camouflaged in the Garbage Dump," by Lakshitha Karunarathna, runner-up in the Humanity versus Nature category. Image 3 of 3 "No Air in the Pit," by Javier Aznar, runner-up in the Humanity versus Nature category. The winner of the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category was an image of a baby loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) that Fitor took in a recovery center in Spain in 2022. The runners-up were two images of rehabilitated armadillos and anteaters, both by Fernando Faciole. Faciole's image of a South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris) recovering from severe burn injuries in Brazil in 2024 won the Public Award, while the Student's Choice Award winner was Bambang Wirawan's photograph of a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) in Indonesia, photographed from inside the bloody rib cage of its prey. Image 1 of 4 "Training Day," by Angel Fitor, winner in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 2 of 4 "Caring for the Unseen Giants, by Fernando Faciole, runner-up in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 3 of 4 "Little Giant's Walk," by Fernando Faciole, runner-up in the Change Makers: Reasons for Hope category. Image 4 of 4 "After the Flames, Hope," by Fernando Faciole, winner of the Public Award. RELATED STORIES —Beginner's guide to wildlife photography —Camouflaged animals are hiding in every one of these photos — can you spot them all? —Amazing photos of nocturnal animals "Images prompt conversation and consideration of how we can protect and value these irreplaceable environments across the planet. They cut through apathy, capture reality, evoke empathy, and ignite action," Ami Vitale, a National Geographic photographer and documentary filmmaker and president of the awards' jury, said in the statement. "Through this visual medium, we reconnect people with nature, highlighting not only the perils but also the promise and the hope that exists all around us."
