Robosys Automation and Netherlands-based MARIN (Marine Research Institute) have signed a cooperation agreement to work together on the research and development of a new range of autonomous navigation software systems.
The agreement will see Robosys gain access to MARIN’s Dolphin Simulation software, while MARIN will have the chance to work with Robosys’ Voyager 100 autonomous navigation software.
As part of the project, MARIN says it aims to establish a facility to measure compliance of autonomous navigation software with the IMO international collision regulations (COLREGS), comparing candidate test software systems with the Voyager Series reference software supplied by Robosys.
The scoring system to be used for these comparisons is yet to be finalised, the partners note.
The software testing will be carried out by the MARIN Maritime Operations division, and will attempt to measure the Obstacle Avoidance capabilities of the software systems and award a compliance score.
Once testing is completed a Comparison List of performance results will be created, to inform further development and to be used as a reference for future regulation of the sector.
MARIN originally started testing Robosys autonomous navigation software on its Ship Simulator last year as part of the Netherlands Joint Industries Project, culminating in North Sea Trials with three ships in March 2019.
