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Charting a Course
for Autonomous Shipping

Autonomous shipping is a visionary concept that is well underway in today’s oceans. Orca AI is leading the transition to partial autonomous commercial shipping, which is based on robust human-machine collaboration, and plays a pivotal role in promoting safety, reducing crew workloads, and improving fuel efficiency.

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Why We Need
Autonomous Shipping?

  • Crew Empowerment

    Autonomous shipping reduces crew workloads, allowing ships to travel the seas with smaller, highly dedicated crews. AI navigation systems also reduce collision risk, detect hazards and enhance crew life safety.

  • Safer Seas

    AI navigation systems reduce collision risk, provide timely alerts for the crew regarding high-risk hazards, and enhance the safety of the crew, the cargo, and the vessel.

  • The Race to Net Zero

    Responding to changes with perfect timing and precision, autonomous shipping systems can reduce and accelerate ship speed and locate optimal courses with fewer ‘last minute maneuvers. The result is a more sustainable and fuel-efficient journey.

Bringing autonomous capabilities to commercial ships

  • 24/7 automated watchkeeping
    The inherent depth of the AI gaze

    Throughout history, the human lookout has been responsible for assessing navigational risk. Orca AI’s advanced computer vision and AI-based watchkeeper far surpass traditional human lookout in terms of detection, classification, and real-time prioritization. It is the first AI-driven type-approved product of its kind.

    • Computer vision and AI for high-level collision avoidance
    • Alerts and alarms for precise risk notification
    • Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) capabilities that are independent of radar/AIS data
    • Real-time assessment and prioritization according to vessel type, distance, CPA and TCPA
    • Broad FOV of 225-360 camera coverage, with simultaneous multi-camera data calculation
  • Sensor fusion
    Replacing limitations with clarity

    Data integration is key for optimal situation awareness, compensating for the limitations of individual sensors. Orca AI’s AI-based sensor fusion technology offers a comprehensive view of the environment, particularly in target-rich scenarios, surpassing human capabilities that may struggle to manage multiple targets simultaneously.

    • Increases reliability and correlation to additional navigation equipment
    • Adds static information such as target name and type for improved planning and awareness
    • Camera and radar data fusion increases navigational safety
    • Computer vision highlights and notifies the crew of risky targets
  • AI model training
    The world's biggest data set

    60 million nautical miles collected over the years are at the core of the world’s most comprehensive marine dataset created by Orca AI. Here’s how it works:

    • Visual data is collected by computer vision sensors and uploaded to the cloud
    • The visual data is transformed into a labeled data set
    • The AI algorithm is trained through self-correction mechanisms comparing itself to ground truth
    • The trained and tested model is deployed back on the vessel
  • Fully autonomous open sea navigation under supervision
    An open sea of possibilities

    Typically 95% of vessel voyages are conducted in open seas, where traffic is light. As part of Orca AI’s vision towards autonomous navigation, this use case will be the most impactful to maintaining the safety of navigation, with no additional regulatory approval required. For additional control and safety, Orca AI integrated into the voyage planning system streams real-time data from ship to shore, including video, navigation sensor data and alarms.

    • Reduced crew on the bridge
    • Live video and data streaming
    • Remote control on demand
    • Optimized fuel consumption and reduced emissions
    • Notifications on early encounters, with the recommended route to deviate as little as possible from original route, while maintaining safe distance from all targets

Enabling the autonomous shipping future, today

The world’s first autonomous commercial ship voyage in congested waters, powered by Orca AI, in partnership with the Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ships (DFFAS) and The Nippon Foundation, was successfully completed in early 2022, with full autonomy activated 99% throughout the journey’s 40 navigation hours.

Videos

Learnings from the world’s first autonomous commercial voyage

June 15, 2023

Watch here
Videos

The world’s first autonomous commercial voyage

May 18, 2022

Watch here
Press releases

World’s first autonomous commercial ship voyage in congested water successfully completed

May 12, 2022

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