Autonomous car ferry!

Mitsubishi presents successful test

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced that it has conducted the first test of an autonomously navigating large car ferry. The demonstration of the project took place this week off the coast of Shinmoji in Kitakyushu City, Japan, in support of MEGURI 2040, a project funded by the Nippon Foundation to develop fully autonomous vessels.

According to MHI, the test demonstrated the world's first fully autonomous navigation system on board a 222-metre-long ferry with autonomous mooring and casting off, turning manoeuvres and speeds of up to 26 knots. Other new technologies for fully autonomous operation include sensors for recognising other ships using infrared cameras, a remote monitoring system for the engines and a sophisticated cyber security system.

The Nippon Foundation launched the MEGURI 2040 project for fully autonomous ship navigation in February 2020. Demonstration tests to test the concepts for autonomous navigation systems are planned to begin this month and run until March 2022.

Source: GCaptain / Schuler