Project description
The concept of our planned harbour ferry is to use a commercially usable vehicle as a demonstrator and test vehicle at the same time, so that it can carry passengers and be used on a regular line on the one hand, and accommodate our research assistance systems, which are monitored by the operator on board, on the other hand. This set-up has the following advantages:
The operating costs can be kept very low because of the commercial use.
Because of the commercial use the ferry will actually be operating and long-term experience can be gathered – neither of these would be possible with a vessel designed for research only.
The ferry does not require a special sailing area, but can be used as a demonstrator on any route for which it is suitable.
The project will promote the exchange between different areas of expertise such as those of shipping companies, shipyards and technology providers. It can also result in a large number of student theses. In this phase, it is possible to examine and answer many questions in detail, such as:
- How much autonomy is possible, permissible and desirable in maritime passenger transportation?
- What effects do the individual levels of autonomy have on people?
- What technological challenges need to be solved for the corresponding "autonomy levels"?
- What do these technological solutions look like in detail and what alternatives are there?
- How can the findings be implemented in the design, construction and operation of passenger transportation in the maritime environment in the various applications?
- How is the connection to land transportation made?
In particular, the following fields of technology are to be considered:
- Ship design
- Drive systems (requirements for CO2-neutral and low-emission drive systems)
- Sensors and AI for short-range navigation
- Energy management and charging systems
- Remote / predictive maintenance
- Process control, process safety
