AI-powered Mayflower, beset with glitch, returns to England

The Mayflower had a few false starts before its trailblazing sea voyage to America more than 400 years ago

PLYMOUTH, England -- The Mayflower had a few false starts before its trailblazing sea voyage to America more than 400 years ago. Now, its artificial intelligence-powered namesake is having some glitches of its own. A sleek robotic trimaran retracing the 1620 journey of the famous English vessel had to turn back Friday to fix a mechanical problem. Nonprofit marine research organization ProMare, which worked with IBM to build the autonomous ship, said it made the decision to return to base “to investigate and fix a minor mechanical issue" but hopes to be back on the trans-Atlantic journey as soon as possible. With no humans on board the ship, there's no one to make repairs while it's at sea.