A team from Frazer-Nash is one of just five selected to take on the ‘Unlocking Autonomous Navigation Challenge’ set by the ADMIRALTY Marine Innovation Programme (led by the UK Hydrographic Office).
For the week-long ‘hackathon’, Frazer-Nash will develop a product concept for the autonomous shipping sector. Working closely with the UK Hydrographic office’s subject matter experts they will aim to identify, trial and prove how navigational data can be used to support the safe navigation of Marine Autonomous Surface Ships.
Taking part in the challenge from Frazer-Nash are Gwen Palmer, Ben Lane and Daniel Kent, with support from Thom Kirwan-Evans, Rebecca Robinson, Elisabeth Carr and Robbie Urwin. Gwen said:
“The development of autonomous ships has the potential to transform the maritime industry. These ships, while operating autonomously, will still need to be able to transport cargo and people safely and to react to dynamic, changing situations, with different modes of operation within specific locations. To do this, they’ll need accurate, compliant navigational data that is designed for use by autonomous technologies.
“We’re looking to develop a solution to help answer the question: ‘How can marine geospatial data support the safe navigation of commercial autonomous ships?’ We’ll be drawing upon the wealth of marine geospatial data provided by the UK Hydrographic Office and, while we can’t go into any detail about our solution at this stage, our proposition will be developed to meet maritime users’ needs, both technically and commercially.”
The winners will be announced on 2 November. For more details about the Unlocking Autonomous Navigation Challenge, visit https://www.admiralty.co.uk/innovation-programme/autonomous-navigation-challenge.
