Rolls-Royce Unveils Autonomous Ship R&D Center In Finland

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Adding to the rapidly growing nature of interest in the sector, Rolls-Royce has unveiled and opened a new research and development facility in Finland that is focused on autonomous shipping.

The idea behind the new research facility — which is located in Turku — is for it to provide UK-based Rolls-Royce and its partner firms with the technology needed to compete in an increasingly automated global shipping sector.

Amongst other things, the new facility — dubbed “Research & Development Centre for Autonomous Ships” — features a “Remote and Autonomous Experience Space” meant to be used as a sort of demo space to showcase new tech.

Speaking about the news, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner stated: “There is great global interest in autonomous vehicles and vessels as a future means of transport. The opening of the Rolls-Royce Research & Development Centre for Autonomous Ships here in Turku, a maritime city with a history of technological innovation, will help achieve our goal of digitalizing the country’s transport sector.”

A press release on the matter provides more: “The Experience Space includes several interactive tables on which Rolls-Royce can showcase existing and future technologies while aiding the development and introduction of new rules and standards for autonomous shipping.”

The President of Rolls-Royce’s Marine division, Mikael Makinen, commented: “I’m proud to say that the R&D centre is now up and running and that all stakeholders, partners and customers will be able see here what a remote controlled and autonomous maritime future could look like, and work with us to shape the future. The experience space that is part of the center here in Turku, and a similar one we have in our Technology Centre in Norway, is aimed at demonstrating to our customers the very tangible benefits of what is often considered an intangible technology.”

For more information on the fast growing autonomous shipping sector, you can check out some of our other recent coverage on the subject: “Largest Container Shipping Line In Japan To Test Remote-Controlled Vessel, Working Towards Fully Autonomous Shipping” and “Short-Range Electric Container Ship Yara Birkeland Expected To Operate Mostly Autonomously By 2020.”


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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