A documentary following the DFFAS consortium’s efforts over one and a half years to realize a fully autonomous ship has just been released on YouTube.

From February 26 to March 1, the DFFAS (Designing the Future of Full Autonomous Ship) consortium conducted a successful trial simulating the actual operation of a fully autonomous ship by having the vessel sail a distance of approximately 790 kilometers between Tokyo Bay and Ise Bay.

In addition to the trial, the documentary examines technical elements of the fully autonomous ship that the consortium aims to realize. Moreover, issues for future social implementation are introduced in detail through interviews with the people in charge.

The DFFAS project comprises 30 Japanese companies including NYK and NYK Group companies Japan Marine Science Inc., MTI Co., Ltd., and Kinkai Yusen Kaisha Ltd. and has conducted various verifications for the social implementation of fully autonomous ships. The consortium is participating in the Joint Technological Development Programme for the Demonstration of Fully Autonomous Ships under the fully autonomous ship project "MEGURI 2040" administrated by The Nippon Foundation.

A link to the documentary is provided below. Take a look at the challenges being overcome by the DFFAS consortium.

(Full version) approx. 54 min.

(Short version) approx. 8 min.