The modern autopilot in aircraft has been around for decades and cars driving themselves are becoming a reality faster than most people would have thought. It is only a matter of (a short) time until autonomous navigation as a concept finds its way into shipping as well. Autonomous sailing for commercial purposes is already the focal point in various research conducted by companies such as Rolls-Royce and DNV-GL, however in these studies, autonomous navigation in the port environment is left untouched. This environment is characterized by a wide variety of manned vessels, where traffic situations are solved by constant communication between crew and port authority. It is a crowded space, and the inertia and momentum of ships imply that there is limited room for error. So we start to question: »How could autonomous, unmanned navigation be made possible in today's port, taking into account the navigational and communication complexity between vessels and the port authority?«
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