Firm's robot boats used in 'hurricane alley'

The small robotic boats are being used to gather data in the Atlantic where tropical storms often form and intensify

Robotic sailboats developed by a start-up company based in Plymouth have been used to gather data in the Caribbean's "hurricane alley".

Oshen has deployed what it called a "constellation" of five C‑Star autonomous sailboats to the stretch of the Atlantic Ocean - where tropical storms often form.

The small, robotic sailboats - each just 1.2m (3.9ft) long - were selected by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Southern Mississippi for the 2025 hurricane monitoring programme.

Anahita Laverack, Oshen CEO and co-founder, said the use of the C-stars to "potentially save lives" was "a really big deal".

The start-up firm moved to Plymouth three years ago

Ms Laverack said: "The data from these C-stars could help improve forecasts and if you can predict the track and severity of the hurricane you can reduce economic damage and potentially save lives, so it's a really big deal for us."

The C-Stars have already successfully gathered and transmitted live data from last weekend's major hurricane Gabrielle, which is heading towards Europe.

Greg Foltz, from NOAA, said: "Understanding weather conditions where the ocean surface meets the lower atmosphere is key to predicting hurricane intensity.

"If C-Stars prove reliable, they could become a critical piece of the observing system for hurricanes in the future."

Ms Laverack said much larger constellations could be deployed in the future.

She added: "Looking ahead, it becomes affordable to deploy hundreds of C-Stars when and where forecasts demand.

"That density can move the needle in how we observe and understand hurricanes, while keeping budgets under control.

"The long-term potential is huge."

Oshen, which moved to Plymouth three years ago, started with just three employees and now has a team of 10.