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Kongsberg’s robotic underwater vessel completes multi-week fully autonomous mission

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Kongsberg Discovery says it has reached “another successful milestone” in the development of its HUGIN Endurance in completing a “record setting multi-week fully autonomous mission”.

After receiving a final navigation update from a pre-deployed transponder 10 hours into the dive, the 8-ton, 40 ft, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operated completely independent of all human interaction and with no external navigation aiding for the duration of the sortie.

This mission was conducted at depths ranging from 50 metres to 3,400 metres and met the advertised 1,200 nautical mile range. Most impressive of all, was that HUGIN Endurance returned with a position error of approximately 0.02 percent of total distance traveled. [Read more…] about Kongsberg’s robotic underwater vessel completes multi-week fully autonomous mission

DB Schenker to operate zero-emission autonomous ship for Ekornes

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DB Schenker, one of the world’s leading logistics providers, has revealed plans to operate an innovative zero-emission coastal container feeder in Norway. The fully electric vessel has a unique design, making it the first of its kind in the world.

Having just signed a pre-study agreement, DB Schenker and its co-operation partners – the furniture giant Ekornes and the vessel designer Naval Dynamics, along with Kongsberg and Massterly – have taken the first steps in an ambitious joint project to replace the traditional feeder vessels utilized along the stretch of the Norwegian coastline around Ikornnes and Ålesund.

The new autonomous and electric, short-sea container feeder leverages Naval Dynamics’ NDS AutoBarge 250 concept that was developed in partnership with Kongsberg and Massterly. [Read more…] about DB Schenker to operate zero-emission autonomous ship for Ekornes

Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

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A Kongsberg-made robot has discovered a 300-year-old Spanish shipwreck in the Caribbean Sea which could be worth $17 billion. 

This made us wonder whether such autonomous underwater vessels could help more light on the ancient world, of more than 3,000 or even 30,000 years ago.

Deep sea divers and archaeologists have found literally hundreds of complex architectural structures in the world’s oceans, hundreds of feet below the surface of the water. [Read more…] about Robot treasure hunter finds $17 billion worth of booty at the bottom of the ocean

Autonomous sea-going vessels likely to be launched before driverless cars

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The vast majority of the world’s goods are shipped – quite literally – by sea. According to the International Maritime Organization, 90 per cent of the world’s trade is carried by ships and boats. 

The IMO adds that the sea “is, by far, the most cost-effective way to move en masse goods and raw materials around the world”.

So while we’re all waiting for drones and driverless vehicles to deliver our online shopping orders by road and by air, it seems the really big trends are all at sea.  [Read more…] about Autonomous sea-going vessels likely to be launched before driverless cars