Difference between revisions of "Automated transport systems/Automated, zero-emissions ships"
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| − | 90% of international trade is moved by ship<sup>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping]</sup>, | + | 90% of international trade is moved by ship<sup>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping]</sup>. Imagine if this cargo could be loaded and unloaded by autonomous robots onto unmanned, autonomous ships that require no fuel, running on renewable energy. Such automated shipping is a huge key to an [[Advanced automation/Intro|automated infrastructure]]. |
Luckily ships, like trains, are comparatively easy to automate, as there are not many things to bump into out at sea, and they do not have to deal with the high-speed manoeuvering that has challenged designers of autonomous helicopters and cars. There are plenty of small unmanned military boats (USVs for 'unmanned surface vehicles' in military-speak) in operation already, though this technology has not been much applied outside of the military nor on larger boats. With GPS, it is very easy for a ship to be programmed to go from anywhere to anywhere else. Loading and unloading cargo ships has become more and more automated since the 1950s and it is now possible to get containers off ships and into trucks without any human labour. | Luckily ships, like trains, are comparatively easy to automate, as there are not many things to bump into out at sea, and they do not have to deal with the high-speed manoeuvering that has challenged designers of autonomous helicopters and cars. There are plenty of small unmanned military boats (USVs for 'unmanned surface vehicles' in military-speak) in operation already, though this technology has not been much applied outside of the military nor on larger boats. With GPS, it is very easy for a ship to be programmed to go from anywhere to anywhere else. Loading and unloading cargo ships has become more and more automated since the 1950s and it is now possible to get containers off ships and into trucks without any human labour. | ||
Revision as of 20:07, 27 June 2010
90% of international trade is moved by ship[1]. Imagine if this cargo could be loaded and unloaded by autonomous robots onto unmanned, autonomous ships that require no fuel, running on renewable energy. Such automated shipping is a huge key to an automated infrastructure.
Luckily ships, like trains, are comparatively easy to automate, as there are not many things to bump into out at sea, and they do not have to deal with the high-speed manoeuvering that has challenged designers of autonomous helicopters and cars. There are plenty of small unmanned military boats (USVs for 'unmanned surface vehicles' in military-speak) in operation already, though this technology has not been much applied outside of the military nor on larger boats. With GPS, it is very easy for a ship to be programmed to go from anywhere to anywhere else. Loading and unloading cargo ships has become more and more automated since the 1950s and it is now possible to get containers off ships and into trucks without any human labour.
Ships are slow compared to other means of transport, but for most purposes, high-speed transport is not particularly important.
There is an abundance of clean energy available at sea. The large surface area of a ship provides ample space for sails and solar panels, and wave power can also be harnessed.
Sail-power is making a comeback in commercial shipping. It makes commercial sense to avail of a free source of energy and sails can now be computer-controlled to automatically turn to the angle that best catches the wind.
An autonomous, clean cargo ship is technically feasible with currently existing technology. As it would have no fuel costs or crew costs, even a higher initial construction cost than normal cargo ships would be justified. Mass-producing such ships would mean that all the world's resources would be able to be transported anywhere for free. It would create a true abundance of transport.
Although there are designs for large cargo ships with zero emissions and small autonomous boats with zero emissions[3] [4], there are not yet any designs for large, autonomous, zero-emissions cargo ships. Time for an open-source design project, perhaps?
