Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries for Urban Water Transport: Cheaper, Cleaner Alternative to Bridges and Manned Vessels

Reddy, Namireddy Praveen; Zadeh, Mehdi Karbalaye; Thieme, Christoph Alexander; Skjetne, Roger; Sørensen, Asgeir J.; Aanondsen, Svein Aanond; Breivik, Morten; Eide, Egil

doi:10.1109/mele.2019.2943954

Cited by 50 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The results should be considered to contribute to scientific knowledge in sustainable urban mobility and autonomous shipping. Because the designs of small autonomous ferries assume zero-emission propulsion systems [22], the study also supports the study on transport electrification, especially in urban areas. Thus far, research on urban autonomous ferry systems has not been numerous, and the research usually does not go beyond technical issues.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Connectivity Benefits of Small Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries in Urban Mobility—Case of the Coastal City of Gdańsk (Poland)

Tarkowski

Puzdrakiewicz

2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An increase in energy-efficient transportation is one way that cities try to mitigate climate change. In coastal cities, public water transit is also undergoing transitions. A small zero-emission autonomous ferry seems to be a cutting-edge technology in this field. This study aims to decrease the knowledge gap in research on the impacts of autonomous passenger ferry development on urban mobility. In particular, the central theme regards the extent to which the new transport solution can help improve sustainable mobility patterns. This study explores the local spatial context of ferry development, land-use patterns, and transport network structure, and moderates the shift in urban mobility practices. Regarding land use patterns, the case of the coastal city of Gdańsk has been documented in secondary qualitative and quantitative data, including in a large body of policy documents, accompanying expert opinions, and scholarly literature. This study strongly emphasises that a typical short river crossing, due to autonomous vessels, can regain a competitive position, which was partially lost due to linear routes along the river. The research identified crucial benefits of autonomous ferry shipping on urban mobility by increasing public transport network connectivity, reducing travel distance, and creating modal shifts towards foot travel and bike riding. It appears as an exciting scalable solution for cities where limited or dispersed demand prevents achievement of economies of scale, therefore diminishing the necessary expenditures.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…Several experiments on zero-emission autonomous ferries for urban water, mainly in Norway and nearby, was carried out [22]. The Norwegian University of Science and Technology and Zeabus, a spin-off from the university, developed small autonomous passenger ferries in an urban setting.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connectivity Benefits of Small Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries in Urban Mobility—Case of the Coastal City of Gdańsk (Poland)

Tarkowski

Puzdrakiewicz

2021

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Autonomous ferries have received increasing attention during the last 5 years [19], [24]. In 2018, the car ferry Falco performed a fully autonomous transit between Parainen and Nauvo in Finland, using technology by Rolls Royce Commercial Marine, since 2019 a part of Kongsberg Maritime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

milliAmpere: An Autonomous Ferry Prototype

Brekke

Eide

Eriksen

et al. 2022

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this paper, we summarize the experiences with the autonomous passenger ferry development prototype milliAmpere, which has been used as a test platform in several research projects at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) since 2017. New algorithms for motion planning, motion control, collision avoidance, docking, multi-target tracking and localization have been developed and verified in full-scale experiments with milliAmpere. The infrastructure surrounding milliAmpere includes several sensor rigs supporting research on multi-sensor fusion and situational awareness, and a shore control lab which can be used to study the interaction between human operators and the autonomous ferry. Building upon the experiences with milliAmpere, the full-scale autonomous ferry milliAmpere2 was recently launched.

show abstract

“…Others see autonomy as an enabler to new markets and operations like Zeabuz (2022) and RoBoat (2021), who are proposing small autonomous passenger ferries as an urban mobility changemaker. Another motivator for devel- oping green autonomous vessels is reducing the strain on current land-based infrastructure by moving transportation to the underutilized waterways, and at the same time reduce the carbon footprint of operations by applying zero-emission vessels (Reddy et al, 2019;Čorić and Nikšić, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Collision avoidance for ASVs through trajectory planning: MPC with COLREGs-compliant nonlinear constraints

Thyri¹,

Breivik²

2022

MIC

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article presents a trajectory planning method for autonomous surface vessels that is compliant with Rule 8 and rules 13-17 from the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs). The method is suitable for operation in restricted waters, where it both handles collision avoidance with static obstacles, and also considers the available room to maneuver when determining the appropriate safe distance to other vessels. The trajectory planner is formulated as a finite-horizon nonlinear model predictive controller, minimizing the deviation from a reference trajectory and the acceleration. Collision avoidance with static obstacles is included through the use of convex free sets. Collision avoidance with other traffic is done by assigning so-called target ship domains to each vessel, and formulating constraints for that domain. COLREGs rules 13-15 and 17 are included by first classifying each vesselto-vessel encounter to find which rule applies, and subsequently assigning an encounter-specific domain to the opposing vessel. The domain is designed so that if the trajectory does not violate the domain, compliance with COLREGs rules 13-15 and partial compliance with Rule 17 is ensured. Furthermore, compliance with COLREGs Rule 8 and Rule 16 is included through a novel method for calculating the objective function cost-gains. By constructing windows of reduced tracking error and acceleration cost, the start time, duration and magnitude of a maneuver can be controlled, and hence readily apparent maneuvers made in ample time can be facilitated. The method's effectiveness and its completeness in terms of COLREGs compliance is demonstrated through an extensive set of simulations of vessel-to-vessel encounters in open waters. Furthermore, the robustness of the method is demonstrated through a set of complex simulations in confined areas with several maneuvering vessels. In all simulations, the method demonstrates compliance with COLREGs Rule 8 and rules 13-17.

show abstract

Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries for Urban Water Transport: Cheaper, Cleaner Alternative to Bridges and Manned Vessels

Cited by 50 publications

References 6 publications

Connectivity Benefits of Small Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries in Urban Mobility—Case of the Coastal City of Gdańsk (Poland)

Connectivity Benefits of Small Zero-Emission Autonomous Ferries in Urban Mobility—Case of the Coastal City of Gdańsk (Poland)

milliAmpere: An Autonomous Ferry Prototype

Collision avoidance for ASVs through trajectory planning: MPC with COLREGs-compliant nonlinear constraints

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About