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The future of the Japanese
maritime industry lies in commercialising
fully autonomous ships
Fromtheoutsidethe100-metrelongcargoshipSuzakulooks
like any ordinaryvessel.But, it’s beenfittedwith stateof the
arttechnologyenablingitscontrolroomwhichis onlandto
monitorin real timethe shipsposition,engine,sea traffic,and
port.The futuristicfleet operationcentrein Chiba,east of Tokyo
is surroundedbya seaofcomputerscreens,ratherthanthesea
itself.There’salsonoconventionalsteeringwheelin sight.
It’s the first timethesevesselswhichare operatedon landareundergoingrigoroustesting.Itssuccessrestsonpassing
a seriesofdemonstrationsthatdetermineshowwellthe
autonomousvesselscan performdifficultmanoeuvers,prevent
collisionsandsecureuninterruptedtelecommunicationwith
headquartersunderextremesituations.
The projectis the brainchildof nonprofitThe NipponFoundationwhoareseekingtopropelJapanasa technological
leaderin the fieldof fully autonomousships.On the highseas
anythingcouldhappenandtechnologyandtrainingmust
prepareagainstnotonlymothernatureandcongestedwaters
butpossiblecyberattacksandpirates.“Youcan’tcontrolthe
sea,”saysTheNipponFoundationExecutiveDirectorMitsuyuki
Unno.“Therecan be strongwinds,roughseasand fishing
boatsandrecreationboatscanappearoutofnowhere.There’s
alwaysthefearofcollision,”MrUnnoexplains.
A consortiumofmorethan 40 Japanesecompaniesspecialisingincontainerships,passengerferries,AI,and
telecommunicationsareworkingbehindthescenestomake
thesevesselsa commercialreality.Theirgoalistoputfully
autonomousshipsintooperationby 2025 andtohavehalfof
allJapanesecoastalshipsrunningautonomouslyby2040.
PIONEERINGTECHNOLOGYINUNCHARTEREDWATERSAutonomousvesselsarea complexcombinationofIoT,ICT,AI
andstateoftheartimagerecognitiontechnology.Thelatest
demonstrationhasgiventhegreenlighttomoveforward
withthe mostdifficultobstaclewhichis developingAI image
capturethatcandetectothershipsandultimatelyallowsfor
safenavigation.Masteringthetechnologytodocka vessel,
whichis consideredthe mostdifficultmanoeuvre,dependson
perfectingAIwithimagecapturetechnology.
SatoruKuwaharawhoisDFFAS(Designingthefutureof
fullyautonomousship)consortium’sprojectdirectorsaysshort
rangenavigationplanningwillbecontrolledbytheautonomous
vesselratherthantheteamatthecontrolcentre.Thismeans
havingconfidencein the integratedtechnologyonboardfor
safenavigation.“Thereisstillroomforimprovingalgorithms
sotheymatchtheskilllevelofhumansintermsofshort-term
manoeuvring.”
Embracingfullyautonomousvesselsalsoleavesthem
vulnerabletoelectronichijackingandpirates.MrKuwahara
stressesthebiggestpriorityis protectingthelivesofcrew
memberswhichis alreadyguaranteedbygoingdigital.
Preventingcyberattacksplay a significantrole comparedto
conventionalships.Communicationwithshipswillbebackedup
bysatellitesandITsecuritysoftwareinbuilttothesystemson
land.ButMrUnnolikensthechallengetoclimbinga mountainin
whichtheprojecthasonlypassedthehalfwaymark.
Japanhastheworld’ssecondlargestshippingindustryand
thirdlargestshipbuildingindustry.Butit risksbeingovertaken
byotherrisingeconomies.MrUnnobelievesJapanhasa global
headstartdevelopingautonomousshipbuildingtechnology.Buthe
concedesthateverystepofthewaycouldbeplaguedbysetbacks.
“Westillneedtodomoreandmoresimulations,andwe
alsoneedtoputthesimulationstopracticaluseonactual
shippingroutes.Weneedmoredatawhichwillincreasethe
numberofopportunitiesforAItolearnfromthisdata.”THEECONOMICPOTENTIALOFFULLY
AUTONOMOUSVESSELS
Container ships are big business and improving operational
and logical efficiency could play a role easing supply chainThe race to launch full autonomous vessels is gathering pace in Japan as the industry
faces a dwindling workforce and increasing operational costs.The container ship Suzaku is
fitted with a comprehensive system
for fully autonomous operation.