Conduct a trial for commercialization of Berthing Aid System

2022-09-16

FURUNO Electric CO., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "we"; headquartered in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture; Yukio Furuno, President) is pleased to inform you that we will conduct a trial using a large car ferry "Sunflower Gold" operated by Ferry Sunflower Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Ferry Sunflower"; Mitsujiro Akasaka, President) for commercialization of Berthing Aid System^※1 (hereinafter referred to as “this system”) aiming to improve the safety and efficiency. With the cooperation of Ferry Sunflower and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "MOL"), and the knowledge from the captain and other ship crews, we are and will continue to be dedicated in the development of this system and contribute to the future of automated berthing.

A superimposed display image of Berthing Aid System

Berthing Aid System

This system uses LiDAR^※2 to calculate the relative distance and relative angles between the pier and hull with high precision, and displays superimposed images for knowing the situation better. It was measured visually by ship crews. With high-precision calculation of this system, accidents can be reduced and safety can be improved while berthing.

Trial period: September 2022 to March 2023

Trial vessel: Sunflower Gold (Kobe - Oita)
Gross tonnage: 11,178 tons, Length: 165.5m, Width: 27.0m,
Passenger capacity: 716
Vehicle capacity: 147 trucks, 75 passenger cars

Ferry Sunflower Limited: https://www.ferry-sunflower.co.jp/en/

※1 From January to February 2022, a demonstration experiment for this system was conducted on a coastal container ship and a large car ferry led by MOL under the unmanned ship project "MEGURI2040".

※2 LiDAR is a type of sensor that uses laser light. The feature is that the luminous flux density is higher than radio waves, and the position and shape can be detected with high accuracy by using short wavelength laser light.。

Related Links：

Announced on September 16, 2022 (MOL): MOL and Ferry Sunflower Launch Trial Use of ‘Berthing Aid System’ for Ships with Eye toward Commercialization
https://www.mol.co.jp/en/pr/2022/22103.html

Announced on February 9, 2022 (FURUNO): Successful sea trial of autonomous sailing on a large car ferry voyage
https://www.furuno.co.jp/en/news/general/general_category.html?itemid=1119&dispmid=961

Announced on February 7, 2022 (MOL): MOL and Partners Set World Records for Time and Distance in Autonomous Navigation with Sea Trial Using Large Commercial Car Ferry - Follows Successful Trial of Coastal Containership in Autonomous Sailing
https://www.mol.co.jp/en/pr/2022/22017.html

Announced on February 4, 2022 (FURUNO): Successful sea trial of autonomous ship voyage
https://www.furuno.co.jp/en/news/general/general_category.html?itemid=1116&dispmid=961

Announced on January 25, 2022 (MOL): World's First Successful Sea Trial of Autonomous Sailing on a Commercial Container Ship Voyage
https://www.mol.co.jp/en/pr/2022/22007.html/

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