SHI succeeds in remote autonomous operation trial of 300-ton ship

The commercialization of technology that is capable of operating a remote and autonomous ship from a lab 250 kilometers away is approaching.

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) said on Monday that it succeeded in testing its independently-developed remote autonomous navigation system called SAS. The demonstration, where the 38-meter-long, 300-ton tugboat “Samsung T-8” was operated via SAS from a ground control center in Daejeon, took place in waters off the SHI shipyard on Geoje Island on Wednesday. Although Geoje Island and Daejeon are about 250 kilometers apart, the ship was controlled and operated in real time through wireless communication technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) and 5G.

During the demonstration, Samsung T-8 safely sailed to the destination 10 kilometers away and came back without the intervention of crewmen, and avoided other ships and obstacles that fell within a radius of 1 kilometer. The SAS utilizes the data collected from the radars and global positioning system (GPS) to find the optimal escape path and automatically control the propulsion and steering systems. The demonstration was also attended by officials from Norwegian shipping company DNV GL to check the functions of the SAS.

“We plan to utilize artificial intelligence and high-speed communications technology to develop more advanced navigation assistance system, and commercialize it by 2022,” said Shim Yong-rae, head of the shipbuilding and marine research institute at SHI.


Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com