Partnership sees Rolls-Royce develop intelligent shipping systems

The venture could advance smart, connected and data-centric systems to make marine operations more seamless for ship owners, operators, cargo owners and ports.

With a focus on safety, new ships will reportedly have systems with the same technology found in smart cities, autonomous cars and drones.

The new shipping intelligence systems will have data-driven and artificial intelligence capabilities, as well as sophisticated edge computing throughout that independently manages navigation, obstacle detection and communications.

The technology could, according to Rolls-Royce, solve design challenges associated with shipping intelligence by providing engineers with a flexible platform and the IP and components for operations such as obstacle detection and navigation.

The move towards a connected world

One of the biggest benefits of introducing connected operations and autonomous vehicles is improved safety. These can also reduce risk, improve efficiency and decrease workload.

The Manufacturer previously spoke to Alex Raymond, PHD student at the University of Cambridge, who was awarded one of 12 Industrial Fellowships from The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.

This is given to young research scientists and engineers to enable them to impact on industry, doing so by accelerating the development and commercialisation of new technologies.

At present, autonomous boats cannot listen, interpret and respond to radio signals sent by humans. Raymond believes his project can change this.

“It should be like a telephone. You don’t need a specific telephone to call another, and so you shouldn’t need a specific technology to interact with AI systems, it should be a standardised process,” he said.

Raymond explained: “What I want to do is create a technology that will allow these boats to listen to the radio messages being sent. They need to translate, broadcast and interpret relevant messages.”

Read the full interview here.