Maersk began testing "Unmanned Container Ships" secretly.

On the one hand, Maersk is not looking bullish on the prospects of the unmanned ship market, while starting to test the technology of "unmanned ship" on the ship.The Maersk Group, which has become the leader of the global shipping industry, is obviously not going to fall in the coming unmanned ship.

The first test of AI power and situational awareness on container ships in the world

It is reported that the Danish shipping giant Maersk Group recently signed a contract with Sea Machines Robotics, based in Boston, which will install computer vision, laser radar (LIDAR) and perceptual software on a newly built Winter Palace ice class container ship. Maersk Group has become the first company in the world to test artificial intelligence (AI) power perception and situational awareness technology on container ships.

P. Michael A. Rodey, the senior innovation manager of Maersk Group, explained that "self driving and unmanned ships are not the ultimate goal of Maersk, and the most important thing is the new technology and value that are constantly applied in the process of development." "We hope to prove that this technology can improve our safety, efficiency and reliability."

Sea Machines founder and chief executive Michael Johnson said: "we are very proud that the world's largest shipping company chose Sea Machines, and the cooperation with Maersk shipping was the first time we entered the shipping field. Our mission is to promote the development of the marine industry with the technology of twenty-first Century. We can see that the growth of Sea Machines market is very exciting for us.


Maersk started working with Sea Machines to develop unmanned ships 3 years ago.

It is understood that Sea Machines Robotics is a Boston start-up in the United States, which released its first product, Sea Machines 300, in September 2017. The system is specially designed for ships and is able to allow the ship to have automatic driving ability and to reach its destination through regular ship equipment and proprietary algorithms. Avoid obstacles and other ships. It is understood that the Sea Machines 300 system can be installed on almost all ships and helps ships avoid maritime obstacles and avoid collision accidents at sea.

Last summer, Sea Machines Robotics successfully carried out a remote remote controlled pilotless ship test, an unmanned ship equipped with sensors and autopilot software to practice sailing and oil tankers at the Boston Bay.

It is reported that the Maersk Group and Sea Machines Robotics began to explore cooperation three years ago, when Sea Machines was developing the concept of its first autonomous driving system.

Sea Machines Robotics says they want to make shipping services more efficient and safer through the ship's autopilot system. "Our main task is to create a system that can provide a backing for business ship decisions. The first is a manned ship, then an unmanned ship. "

It is reported that Sea Machines hopes to open up a new era of commercial shipping innovation, beyond the development of driverless cars and trucks.