A group of 40 Japanese companies aim to develop AI-powered Robo Ship by as early as 2025.
The project is backed by Nippon Foundation, a non-profit organisation. It wants to have unmanned vessels account for 50% of domestic shipping by 2040, Nikkei Asia reported last week.
The development will be carried out with the help of satellites and ultra-speed 5G wireless networks for communication between land and sea, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help set efficient routes. Participants include Nippon Yusen and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone.
The technical challenges such as the need for cameras and sensors that monitor conditions in place of a human crew, that transportation companies and shipbuilders face will be handled by the robo ship.
The remote-control technology will undergo a trial run late next year with a mid-size domestic container ship. The unmanned ship will be equipped with a system enabling it to automatically steer away from potential collisions with other vessels.
Verification testing is to begin by the end of fiscal 2021 (March 2022), with the realization of autonomous shipping targeted by 2025. The Nippon Foundation also plans to provide support for aspects of unmanned navigation other than verification testing. The collective name for these efforts is MEGURI2040, the organization said.
With more than half of ship crew members over the age of 50 and human error said to account for 80% of maritime accidents, the realization of unmanned navigation is expected to help resolve the issues of personnel shortages as ship crews age and maritime accidents caused by human error.
In addition, Japan can expect an annual economic effect equivalent to 1 trillion yen if unmanned navigation can be realized and comes to account for 50% of shipping by 2040.
