The first 100% autonomous and electric urban ferry makes its first crossing in Stockholm, June 8, 2023 (AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND)
A 100% autonomous and electric ferry was inaugurated Thursday in Stockholm, which according to its promoters becomes the first city in the world to put this type of shuttle into service, noted an AFP team.
“It’s a revolutionary day for everyone,” said Stein André Herigstad-Olsen, CEO of Torghatten, the Norwegian company that led the project.
The company claims a world first for an autonomous city ferry, an area where Scandinavia is at the forefront.
From Monday, the ferry called “MF Estelle” – the first copy of which cost around 1.5 million euros – will initially run on short trips of a few hundred meters between several islands in the city center of Stockholm.
A pilot is currently on board to supervise, but without touching the controls.
It is then expected to become “totally autonomous”, assures Mr. Herigstad-Olsen, who hopes to increase the number of shuttles in circulation in Stockholm and abroad.
The autonomy of the small ferry of ten meters is possible thanks to different systems, explains to AFP Erik Nilsson, operational manager of Torghatten.
“We have the usual radar, AIS, but also additional cameras and ultrasonic systems that allow us to identify” obstacles in the road.
“This autonomous system works like a captain, it sees like a captain and navigates like a captain”, abounds the CEO.
Passenger safety will thus be ensured, according to the company.
“If a canoe appears, we see it in less than a second and update the course” of the shuttle, develops Mr. Nilsson.
This will be able to carry a maximum of 30 people and the price of a one-way ticket will be 35 Swedish crowns (about 3 euros).
The ferry aims to encourage residents to walk or cycle to work, instead of driving.
This initiative comes at a time when the sector of electric ships like automated boats is booming.
In November 2021, the first autonomous 100% electric freighter saw the light of day in Norway: the Yara Birkeland, 80 meters long and 3,200 tonnes deadweight. But its empowerment will be done gradually.
© 2023 AFP
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