Norwegian start-up Zeabuz has revealed it will launch a self-driving ferry, or water taxi, next year. Capable of carrying up to 12 passengers at a time, customers will be able to hail the commuter ferry by pressing a button on their phones. The emissions-free mode of public transport was first developed by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in 2018 and Zeabuz are on track to getting it on the water and serving commuters by 2021.
The battery-powered Zeabuz will transport passengers across waterways in cities, as well as settlements along the coast where boat trips are common with the intention of having minimal impact on the environment. It's a self-driving system, a technology that can make people feel a little uneasy but the company assured all safety standards and checks have been met. Using state-of-the-art sensors, the autonomous ferry will be able to detect the area around them and safely navigate around swimmers, other boats or stationary objects in the water. Those sensors will feed data back to the control system to help it make decisions about where to dock and how to handle passengers safely.
Source: SASHA BRADY
