National Oceanography Centre · underwater vehicle
Boaty McBoatface
Autosub Long Range
A 3.62 m Autosub Long Range AUV, one of six in the class, that travels on its own for months over 2,500 km or more, down to 6,000 m. It got its name from a 2016 public poll.
- Price
- —Research vehicle, not sold
- Autonomy
- DriverlessHow it runs
- Driverless
- In serviceSince 2017-04
- Fleet
- 6Reported; details below
- Speed
- 3.6 km/hFaster than 0%
- Range
- 2500 kmPer charge or tank
Why it matters
Spent 51 hours under Antarctic ice in 2018 and later made a 2,000 km, 55-day trip from Iceland to Scotland.
Real-world use
Maiden mission from 3 April 2017 in the Orkney Passage (180 km, down to 4,000 m); 2018 Filchner Ice Shelf mission; 2024 Iceland-Scotland voyage.
Timeline
- First shown
- 2017-04-03
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
National Oceanography CentreCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Driverless in service
- Where it runs
- Southern Ocean (Orkney Passage, Weddell Sea), North Atlantic
- Driverless since
- 2017-04
- Fleet
- 6 ALR vehicles (BBC, 2024)
- Rides, miles or loads
- Over 2,000 km in 55 days, 2024 (BBC)
How it stacks up
Against other underwater that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
Too few underwater publish a weight to rank it. Bars show the 1 closest in date.
Boaty McBoatface (Autosub Long Range) is faster than 0% of the 3 other underwater that publish a speed. Bars show the 3 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, payload, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
#7 of 215 current vehicles in public attention.
- 41,167 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Boaty McBoatface)
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Fully autonomous. Does its job with nobody at the controls.
From the maker
Boaty McBoatface (Autosub Long Range) is the only vehicle from National Oceanography Centre in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedResearch vehicle, not sold
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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