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News Chesapeake Bay Magazine: Annapolis Author’s New Book Makes Case for Autonomous Ships

January 20, 2020

Chesapeake Bay Magazine wrote: We have watched with wonder as self-driving cars begin to navigate our roadways – with mixed results. Could similar technology be used to navigate the oceans? Dr. Glenn Wright certainly thinks it’s where the industry is headed. In fact, he wrote the book on the topic. Unmanned and Autonomous Ships is planned for release in early 2020 … The author explains that autonomous vessels can be large or small, complicated or simple. They are quickly becoming a reality in an effort to make shipping safer and more efficient.  A number of U.S. companies are already doing things with autonomous ships. SpaceX uses autonomous drone ships to retrieve rockets at sea– making space launches cheaper and the rockets reusable … Metal Shark, out of Louisiana, has joined Boston-based Sea Machines to create a fleet of autonomous vessels for firefighting and offshore support … Other countries are testing autonomous ferries, container ships, workboats and even tugboats. 

“We have technology in every aspect of our lives,” says Wright. “We’ve even got ‘smart’ toasters. This technology can be used to make jobs that are inherently dangerous safer. And address the labor shortage in seafaring worldwide.” 

Read the full article about Dr. Wright’s book and thoughts on autonomous marine technology for vessels here.