Project description
The Centre for Maritime Studies at Flensburg University of Applied Sciences intends to establish a research focus "Autonomous Shipping". This is to be realised in the course of research into the automation of docking and transfer situations of so- called "Crew Transfer Vessels" (CTV) on wind turbines.
Autonomy is becoming increasingly important and relevant in all traffic and transportation sectors. In shipping, the criteria of efficiency, safety, logistics optimisation and savings potential are economically and scientifically crucial and decisive. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has formed a cross-sectoral working group for autonomous surface ships and developed an international set of rules for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). At the same time, the first test areas for unmanned ships are being designated worldwide. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has included autonomous shipping as one of the most important topics in its Maritime Research Strategy 2025.
The Centre for Maritime Studies wants to respond to these technological developments by establishing a research focus on "Autonomous Shipping" and thus build up and develop skills that will benefit students for their future career prospects and qualifications.Ideally, in doing so synergies will be created - and applied - amongst the existing expertise from specials areas such as Marine Engineering, Nautics, Mechanical Engineering for Ships, Systems Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and computer science. The expansion of this focus of expertise is to be carried out together with professors, scientists, doctoral projects and students from the various disciplines.
The specific subject of the project is the design of a software/hardware combination for the partial autonomation of temporary mooring manoeuvres as they take place on CTVs. CTVs are used in the offshore sector for the maintenance and repair of wind turbines. With the help of the Maritime Center's simulation facilities, these processes will first be simulated and then mapped automatically. The development will take place in the simulation environment, and the first tests under various conditions can also be carried out here. In addition, the prospect of testing the system on a new type of test carrier from Offcon has been announced.
