Autonomous vessel technology is already in use in the military and commercial sectors and we believe it is time to explore how it’s potential can be applied to the yachting industry. The possibilities are enormously exciting. Imagine cutting a tender loose in rough weather and instructing it to follow in the wake of the yacht at a safe distance, or consider the possibilities if chandlers could load a vessel with a consignment of supplies and send it to a yacht at anchor without a human on board.
How about a yacht support vessel carrying toys? With autonomy you won’t need a second crew because the boat can shadow the mothership automatically. The safety benefits provided through autonomous navigation have the potential to be significant, provided the industry goes about developing it the right way, all of which we will explain in our upcoming think pieces on the subject.
Watch this space as we delve into this fascinating topic.