VIKING VISION

Autonomous-navigation technology from Avikus could change the future of yachting.

- DAVID SCHMIDT

IT'S ONE THING TO EXPERIENCE computer-assisted docking, but it's different to ride aboard a vessel that's autonomously negotiating the nautical road. I learned this during an on-water demo of Neu Boat technology from Avikus at the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Our human pilot guided the demo boat out of its slip and into the Stranahan River. Minutes later, his hands left the helm, not to return. While it initially felt strange to place so much trust in silicone and sensors, trepidation morphed into amazement as we transited under the Southeast 17th Street bridge and into Lake Mabel. We passed hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of gleaming fiberglass, aluminum and steel waterlines, but NeuBoat plotted a safe course through all of it and then back to, and into, the slip.

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is here, and it will only become a bigger, more integrated part of our world in the future. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder and the parent company of Avikus, is already using autonomous capabilities to navigate ships across oceans, albeit with human oversight. While the NeuBoat isn't the only autonomous vessel technology afloat, it's the only solution created by the commercial-marine sector with the parallel intention of innovating for the recreational-marine market. Avikus plans to offer two AI-assisted products, which can each be spec'd with two levels of operational capability. 

The first is NeuBoat Navigation, which should be released in the second half of this year. It is designed to help human operators who are directly controlling their vessels make more situationally aware decisions. The basic option delivers navigational assistance through augmented reality to help skippers make smart choices, while the more advanced option provides navigation assistance along with camera-and sensor-collected informational assistance while docking.