Kristiansund Autonomous Ferry Project
Kristiansund will convert the “Sundbåten” 143 year old ferry to be autonomous and battery-powered. The city will become one of the world’s first to have a self-driving passenger transport ferry. Maritime Robotics is leading a consortium with eight partners using the MS Angvik ferry as a platform to test solutions and to develop what will become the autonomous ferry.
Photo: Maritime Robotics CEO Vegard Evjen Hovstein.
CEO of Maritime Robotics Vegard Evjen Hovstein says that this project along with other autonomous projects are important to keep Norway at the head of autonomous technology development. He also stresses the importance of being able to implement the technology into the market. This means that cooperation with users is invaluable as they know what they need and companies can find the solutions.
The “Sundbåt” project has received 6 million nok support from the Pilot T Organization for Norwegian Innovation and Research Counsel. The funding will be used for planning, design, development of autonomy and simulator solutions. The research and development has been planned to take place over the course of the next 4 years.