Opening of the '2020 Autonomous Navigation Boat Festival' at Masan Robot Land

‘Autonomous Boat’ Competition and Mini Boat Making Workshop Held

On the 12th, the '2020 Autonomous Navigation Boat Festival' opened at the Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land Convention Center. (Photo by Changwon City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] A festival of ‘smart boats’ equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology that autonomously navigate through waves opened on the 12th at the Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land Convention Center in Changwon, Gyeongnam.

Changwon City announced that the ‘2020 Autonomous Navigation Boat Festival’ will be held over three days under the slogan, ‘To the future sea with robots! Take a RO-BOAT to the future!’

The festival will run until the 14th and is co-hosted by Gyeongnam Province, Changwon City, and the Ship & Offshore Plant Research Institute, with the Korean Society of Naval Architects and the Gyeongnam Robot Land Foundation jointly organizing it.

The country’s first national competition, the ‘1st Autonomous Navigation Boat Competition KABOAT 2020,’ also opened. The competition features 24 university teams from across the nation and one general participant team, with contestants showcasing their autonomous navigation boats created with creative ideas to compete in skills.

The competition events include ▲Speed race ▲Autopilot ▲Obstacle course, totaling three categories. Strict judging is conducted through precise measurement equipment, and teams with excellent overall results in each category will be awarded the Minister’s Award and the Changwon Mayor’s Award, among others.

A mini boat making education and experience program for elementary and middle school students is also being held simultaneously. Participants can make mini boats themselves and immediately launch them in an indoor water tank, and an autonomous navigation boat exhibition booth is operated for general visitors.

Changwon Mayor Heo Seong-mu said, “We hosted the competition to foster unmanned ship technology and to provide a stage for future shipbuilding engineers to fully demonstrate their skills.”

He added, “I hope that the autonomous navigation boats born from this competition will one day set sail from the waters off Changwon and navigate the world.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.