Hyundai Heavy Industries’ autonomous navigation plans have moved ahead towards commercialization with approval in principle from the Korean Register (KR) and the Liberian Registry (LISCR).
The newly-approved Hyundai Intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS 2.0), developed by HHI subsidiary Avikus, gathers data from sensors attached to the vessel and from its navigation equipment, then integrates it using AI. That integrated vision feeds into an augmented reality system to help the crew navigate the vessel and avoid collisions.
“[This project] is the first achievement through the collaboration of a shipyard, an autonomous navigation solution development company, a classification society and a ship registry,” said Lim Dohyeong, Avikus’ CEO. “It proves that an autonomous navigation system can be installed on a ship and operated stably. We believe HiNAS 2.0 will drastically improve the safety and economic feasibility of ships, accelerating the commercialization of autonomous navigation technology.”
The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Avikus/HHI are also working together on a series of autonomous projects to integrate self-navigating systems into new ships, including the groundbreaking half-autonomous voyage of the LNG carrier Prism Courage.
Autonomy is a key part of the future plans of recently-appointed CEO Kisun Chung, head of HD Hyundai. The firm – formerly known to shipping as Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (2019-2022) and Hyundai Heavy Industries (1972-2019) – is one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, but Chung has signaled his intent to pursue a “fundamental reframing of the company’s perspective and approach on ocean utilization.” This includes major investments in maritime AI, big data, vessel autonomy, and an “ocean energy ecosystem.”
