Hacker News Reader

Comment by softwaredoug | Hacker News Reader

I worked on ship nav systems in the early 2000s

Boats have had a higher level of autonomy than cars for a while. In the early 2000s you could plot a course on a computer and that software would navigate that course, avoiding some (charted) obstacles and the like. See: https://www.sperrymarine.com/integrated-bridge-system (sorry for crappy product page)

One thing ships have is tons of redundancy. You can always go one level lower in control. Go from the charting system picking heading and coarse down to you setting heading directly via an autopilot. You can go from that to rudder control. Down all the way to manual control of the rudder.

That kind of redundancy, plus a trained and alert crew, make a world of difference and seems quite different than the car world.

View on HN

> Boats have had a higher level of autonomy than cars for a while.

This is really a mixed bag - some categories of vessels have had more advanced navigation systems for decades, but on the the other hand a family minivan is about two decades ahead of a bowrider that goes for about same price when it comes to autonomy.

More directly addressing the article - marine autonomy is an easier problem technically, but there is a significant market problem. Aside from water taxis, there is not the same compelling economic case for autonomous small boats as there is for commuter cars.

Disclaimer: I work on ADAS systems for recreational boats.

The difference between a 50k 4Runner and a 50k boat is that while both are status symbols to show off you don't expect to be minimally engaged while operating the boat. Driving it is part of the fun.

40% of the world's populations lives within 100km of a coastline [1]

I could see some applications when combining autonomous small boats with multicopters, to manage last mile delivery along the coastlines and various rivers or lakes.

[1] https://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/natlinfo/indicators/methodolo...

Even consumer level boats are starting to get this technology. You can get nav systems now which have fully autonomous control (I believe via garmin). They are extremely useful when fishing. You can set a waypoint and have the boat drive you there while you take care of your tackle, live well, etc. Then, once you arrive, the nav system will keep you in the same spot without having to drop anchor.

People have been using self-piloting sailboats / automated navigation on personal water craft for decades. The issue of course is collision avoidance, traffic navigation, and determining the best route autonomously.

Collision avoidance, traffic navigation, and determining the best route autonomously is already available for ships. A lot of the same sensors are used in cars as well.

Hitting a partially submerged container at night in a sailboat offshore is exciting.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com