Artificial intelligence is taking hold everywhere, including in our boats. Following Brunswick's presentation in November 2022 of a prototype boat capable of docking itself thanks to an advanced autopilot program, it's now the turn of Avikus, one of the forerunners in artificial intelligence and autonomous driving, to announce a collaboration with the Aquasport Group, manufacturer of the Aquasport, Forza and Twin Vee brands, to create the world's first company to produce pleasure boats equipped with autonomous driving.
More and more high-tech in pleasure boats
Year after year, the nautical world integrates more and more cutting-edge technologies, on racing boats of course, but also on units dedicated to pleasure boating. The best illustration of this trend is the presence of more and more yachting companies at the famous Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, USA. Brunswick was one of the pioneers, and has since been joined by Garmin's marine division, Volvo Penta and many others.
The event closed its doors on Friday January 12 with several announcements, including one involving Avikus and Aquasport.
First models on the market by summer 2024
The aim of this future collaboration is to bring to market a range of center console and double console pleasure boats initially under the Twin Vee brand. The first models are expected as early as summer 2024, with several more to be launched by the end of the year under the Twin Vee, Aquasport and Forza brands, the latter already dedicated to electric boats.
"This partnership demonstrates our shared commitment to innovation, technology and the pursuit of excellence in the boating industry. With AquaSport Boats, we're not just launching a new product, we're ushering in a new era of AI-assisted navigation on the open seas." said Lim Dohyeong, CEO of Avikus.
Award-winning technology at CES
While little information has filtered out about the technology used, we already know that right from the design stage, the boats will incorporate sensors and cameras and machine-learning software grouped together in Avikus' NeuBoat technology. This will provide a 360° assessment of the environment, producing 3D views and then autonomously planning and executing routes, identifying and avoiding objects that could represent a source of collision. This new-generation autopilot will also enable the boat to dock itself.
Avikus' NeuBoat Level 2 autonomous navigation solution for pleasure boats won an award in the "Vehicle Technology and Advanced Mobility" category.
