Together with other leading marine sector and information & communication technology (ICT) companies, Wärtsilä is supporting a project aimed at creating the world's first autonomous marine transport system.
The initial focus will be on developing a fully autonomous system for the Baltic Sea by the year 2025, with cargo ships and freight transportation being the first pilot applications. The programme is being largely financed by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for innovation and the ecosystem platform is being handled by DIMECC, a leading breakthrough oriented co-creation ecosystem provider.
The main corporate investors in the programme, apart from Wärtsilä, are Rolls-Royce, Cargotec, Ericsson, Meyer Turku, and Tieto.
Increasing Efficiency and Lowering Operational Costs
Wärtsilä believes that artificial intelligence, robotics, and remote connections will play an important role in the shipping industry's future as a means towards increasing efficiency and lowering operating costs.
The company is committed to developing a strong digital offering and has recently acquired Eniram, a provider of energy management and vessel performance systems, as well as launching its updated Wärtsilä Nacos Platinum platform of navigation, automation, and control systems.
Picture: Wärtsilä recently published its 'Visions for future shipping', which outlines various scenarios that could shape the way that shipping companies operate in the future. System autonomy is one of several future scenarios covered in the concepts (by Wärtsilä).
