Ferry Sunflower is Test Bed for "Intelligent Awareness"
The maritime industry increasingly moves towards autonomy, and Rolls-Royce has been a major driver of the initiative globally. Today Rolls-Royce announced a deal with Japanese multi-modal transport company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), to collaborate in the development of its intelligent awareness system. Specifically the intitiative will be trialled onboard the 165-m passenger ferry Sunflower, owned and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines’ subsidiary company, which makes the 222-nautical mile run between Kobe and Oita via the Akashi Kaikyo, Bisan Seto and Kurushima Straits.
Rolls-Royce, Google Cloud Sign Landmark Deal
The maritime industry's exhaustive push toward autonomy just received a boost in the form of a deal signed between Rolls-Royce and Google to develop further its intelligent awareness systems. The agreement was signed at the Google Cloud Summit in Sweden, and it allows Rolls-Royce to use Google’s Cloud Machine Learning Engine to further train the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) based object classification system for detecting, identifying and tracking the objects a vessel can encounter at sea.
Rolls-Royce, Stena Line Partner on Ship Intelligence
Rolls-Royce said it has signed a deal with Swedish ferry company Stena Line AB to collaborate in the development of its first intelligent awareness system. Intelligent awareness systems will make vessels safer, easier and more efficient to operate by providing crew with an enhanced understanding of their vessel’s surroundings, according to Rolls-Royce. This will be achieved by fusing data from a range of sensors with information from existing ship systems; such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) and radar. Data from other sources, including global databases, will also have a role.
