Rolls-Royce and Finferries present first ferry autonomous

During the demonstration ferry Falco car with about 80 VIPs on board held voyage between the mentioned towns fully autonomously, and on the way back remote controlled from the headquarters on land.

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This was possible by equipping it with a number of sensors allowing to create a real-time environment image as well as artificial intelligence elements. Thanks to them. ferry detects obstacles to the route and the merger of information obtained by them allows avoiding collisions. Self-contained, autonomous exercises have also been performed mooring To the terminal. In these operations, the crew did not intervene once. The sensitivity of sensors provided by Rolls-Royce exceeds the human eye's perception. The resulting situational awareness is also sent to the Finferries operating centre in the 50 km centre of Turku. There, an officer oversees the shuttle's own work, and if necessary, he can take control of the ship remotely.

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The previous successful tests in autonomous swimming in the archipelago near Turku took about 400 hours and included checking of navigation and autodocking systems under various hydrometeorological conditions. The latter allows the unit to change course and adjust speed while approaching the marina and perform autodocting without human participation. During tests of the marine autonomous action was also tested for several hours the anti-collision system. Ferry Falco is a symmetrical, passing unit with a length of 53.8 m, whose operation in the Finferries began 1993. It is powered by two azimutal Rolls-Royce propulsors, giving sufficient maneuverability.

This year, a collaboration between the Finnish ferry operator and the British company began, concerning the SVAN research project (Safer Vessel with Independent Navigation, pol. safer ship with autonomous navigation), aimed at implementing the effects of earlier development work AAWA (Advanced Independent Waterborne Applications, pol. advanced autonomous marine applications), financed by Business Finland.

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Interestingly, the Parainen – Nauvo line has recently been heard in the context of the naval revolution. In 2017, a modern tour entered ferry symmetrical with electric and hybrid drive Elektra, which built Crist S.A. shipyard in Gdynia. Its avant-garde design may be evidenced by the fact that it won the prestigious "Ship of the Year Award" (a year's ship) awarded by the publisher of the magazine "Marine Propulsion & Auxiliary Machinery".

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