The world’s fastest sailing ships are whizzing by in all directions, but my attention is focused on a vessel that’s not moving: the boat representing the U.S. team in the SailGP racing series. The stern of this F-50 hydrofoil is equipped with a new camera that could change the way spectators watch the sport.
I’m in San Francisco Bay watching the boats practice, two days before the 2024 SailGP Grand Final. I’m here to watch cameras equipped with new AI algorithms designed to learn how the F-50 and its crew will move while racing. “The secret is the software behind it,” says Warren Jones, SailGP’s chief technology officer.
SailGP’s new AI-enhanced camera.
“With AI, we can figure out where that ship is going to be in 20 or 30 seconds and move the camera within 100 milliseconds.”
Jones said AI can identify when a boat is about to capsize, so the moment can be captured live on broadcast cameras. The algorithm can also warn crew members of an imminent capsize or collision. To learn more about how SailGP is using AI, watch the video above.
The new cameras can identify when a SailGP boat is on the verge of capsizing.
This isn’t SailGP’s first use of AI: Last year, engineers launched an AI-based anomaly detection program, where algorithms analyze billions of data points from the boat’s 125 sensors to identify when a part might fail.
SailGP is currently testing the AI-enhanced cameras and hopes to have one on every race boat by the time the next racing season starts in November.
