Blogs

Like in our article published previously, we know that Autonomous shipping is technology that is the future, and is a future very soon. We take a look at the latest developments in Autonomous Shipping. Volvo Develops Autonomous Vehicle System for Logistics The Volvo Group has continued its far-reaching drive to develop next-generation transport solutions with a coordination system for autonomous electric goods transport vehicles. New goods transport solutions were unveiled for the first time in connection with the Volvo Group’s Innovation Summit in Berlin in September 2018, which displayed wireless autonomous electric vehicles connected to a transport control centre. The control centre monitors parameters such as each vehicle’s location, load and battery charge, using this data to ensure that the overall fleet logistics, as well as goods and vehicle flow, are as efficient as possible. They are targeting the system for use within areas characterized by short distances, large cargo volumes and high delivery precision, for example between logistic hubs. Read More IMarEST’s Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships Special Interest Group Investigates Autonomous Ships The Special Interest Group has sought to measure the potential impact of self-governing ships and plot out a new course for the shipping industry's workforce. One of its main findings is that adoption will vary significantly between market segments. Another finding was that while only one in six believe that industry will exploit the autonomous or remote operation of commercial vessels in the immediate future, the general sentiment was that such technologies would deliver benefits over the long term. Gordon Meadow, MASS-SIG Chair, IMarEST, said: “We had more than 600 responses to the survey, providing us a unique insight into current industry sentiment on an incipient - and often controversial – technology. This dataset was a keystone in the round-table, where industry leaders reflected on the results, and drew on their own experience and inject additional insight in order to validate and fortify the research.” Read More Autonomous & remotely operated ship guideline released: India To help build a safety culture around these new technologies, DNV GL has released a new class guideline covering autonomous and remotely operated ships. The guideline covers new operational concepts that do not fit within existing regulations and technologies that control functions that would normally be performed by humans. In terms of new operational concepts, the guideline helps those who would like to implement new concepts with a process towards obtaining approval under the alternative design requirements by the flag state. For novel technologies, suppliers can use the guideline to obtain an approval in principle. Read More Report: Automated Vehicle Market Set to Boom The Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) market is predicted to rise by 12.4% to US$2.3 billion by 2024 thanks to increasing demand automating logistics and warehousing divisions, according to a study by Transparency Market Research (TMR). The rise is being driven by increasing global demand for safe and reliable technologies, particularly in high-risk sectors. The Asia Pacific is a region where the market will rise by 13.9%, driven primarily by the large strides made by the automotive sector across the region. Developing economies, like Asian countries, will see increasing demand for AGVs due to their functionality and potential for reducing production costs. Read More