CES 2023: boats without a sailor, a new face of artificial intelligence

Whether it’s pleasure yachts or cargo ships, assisted and autonomous navigation Artificial intelligence (IA) is helping captains get ready to watch sunsets or just get to their destination without a scratch.

At the CES technology trade show in Las Vegas, marine industry manufacturers are placing great emphasis on AI technologies for multipurpose vessels.

“In the water, when there is wind, current, some waves, the boat doesn’t stay in its place, you always have to compensate”, says Johan Inden, president of the marine division of the Swedish company Volvo Penta, which offers prototypes capable of parking boats with the push of a button or with assisted systems.

The American company Brunswick has launched a prototype that offers the best trajectory to enter a port or find space to dock without human intervention.

Avicus, of Hyundaiseek to maximize the pleasure of sailing with a system that positions the boat ideally for sunbathing or finds the best spot to see the sunset in time.

The goal, according to Carl Johansson, is to provide fuel economy, security and “tranquility”.

HD Hyundai, which revealed a project that collects navigation data at CES, says its software can slow down a ship if its destination port is congested.

Although a scenario where boats sail unmanned is still elusive, many instruments can provide valuable information on routes, weather conditions or machine status and maintenance.

The growing encouragement of autonomous shipping has recently helped the International Maritime Organization (IMO) work on setting standards, says Rudy Negenborn of the University of Delft in the Netherlands.

It is still prohibited to operate autonomous vessels in international waters and no new regulations are foreseen arrive before 2028.

Either way, “there’s always going to be a human somewhere,” Negenborn says. Whether it’s a sailor keeping track from a computer or a shore supervisor managing numerous vessels.

Ukraine, crossed by war, at the fair

In addition, a dozen Ukrainian start-ups presented their innovations on Friday at CES, the annual gathering of consumer electronics in Las Vegas, betting on their country’s technological development despite the Russian invasion.

The group was welcomed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which takes place from January 5 to 8 in this western US city, while Russian companies they were not admitted due to the Moscow offensive on kyiv, which has been going on for almost a year now.

Before the war, Ukraine was a promising technological hotbed, but the conflict has forced Ukrainian entrepreneurs to rethink their business plans.

“We are trying to save the startup ecosystem, to make it grow even during the war,” said Karyna Kudriavtseva, project manager at the Ukrainian startup fund, which sent entrepreneurs to CES.

Kudriavtseva told AFP the fund stressed the military technologynot all proposals revolve around war.

One of them is Nanit, a small company that teaches electronics and computer programming skills much needed for jobs in the tech sector.

Nanit CEO Vladyslav Konovets said the initial idea was to focus on children. But the rocket attacks made it impossible to teach the children locally.

While developing educational toys, Nanit taught programming to soldiers on the front lines. Konovets said this could help them find work after the war ended.

Many of the Ukrainian start-ups in the CES is committed to taking care of the environment.

Releaf Paper prided itself on being the first manufacturer of bags, beverage trays, fruit crates and other paper goods made from fallen leaves. The specimens on display were indistinguishable from paper products made from trees.

Releaf Paper chief executive Alexander Sobolenko said the war forced them to become more efficient and seek markets outside Ukraine, and announced plans to build its first production facility in Europe this year. ‘year.

Startup Rekava does not collect fallen leaves, but collects coffee grounds, which it then transforms into cups with lids and containers, all of which are easily biodegradable.

Since the beginning of the war, Rekava has also been producing scented candles, with fragrances dedicated to Ukrainian cities.

Lviv candles smell like coffee, given the love of coffee there, said Rekava commercial director Nazar Trokhymchuk. Crimean candles smelled of grapes.

Startup Corner, meanwhile, lets you do kitchen renovation projects online, then custom builds them with reclaimed wood at prices of only a fraction of new cabinets, according to product director Julia Holovko.