Hyundai Sails Large Autonomous Merchant Ship From Gulf Of Mexico To South Korea

Image via Hyundai Heavy Industries Group / PRNewsfoto

On land, we have self-driving cargo trucks. Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to carry this concept to the waters and has completed the maiden journey for Prism Courage, a large autonomous merchant ship.

Running on the AI-powered HiNAS 2.0 Level 2 autonomous navigation system of Hyundai subsidiary Avikus, the 180,000-square-meter (1,940,000-square-foot) vessel departed from Freeport in the Gulf of Mexico on May 1 and made its way to the Boryeong LNG Terminal in South Korea’s western Chungcheong Province—a voyage spanning 12,427 miles.

Level 2 automation enables vehicles to steer, accelerate, and decelerate themselves, but still requires the presence of humans who will have to step in when required. Tesla’s Autopilot cars, for instance, are Level 2 models.

In this case, it’s worth noting that a manned crew was on board Prism Courage and took control of the latter half of the journey. When it did not have humans steering it, however, the ship could brave various weather conditions and wave heights.

Admittedly, it’ll be some time before fully self-steering ships become a reality. Prism Courage owed much of the trip’s success to the fact that the route was mostly open sea, unobstructed by too many ports or heavy traffic.

With that being said, Hyundai touts the self-driving software as a solution for crew shortages. It’s also installed with optimal route planning, allowing ships to save on fuel and emissions. During this trip, Prism Courage apparently cut fuel use by 7% and its carbon footprint by 5%.

Moving forward, Hyundai believes the technology could be deployed in leisure boats, too.

[via Engadget and Yonhap News Agency, cover image via Hyundai Heavy Industries Group / PRNewsfoto]