First Step was Taken in UZMAR's Autonomous Project named AUTOPLAN

The project kick off meeting of AUTOPLAN (Autonomous Navigation Assistance System for Skid and Semi-Skid Boats) was held on September 10, 2020 with the participation of project partners and consultants. To the meeting; Exp Shipyard (Project Coordinator-Turkey), Technical University of Berlin (Germany), Friendship Systems AG (Germany), OES-Offshore Engineering Solutions Inc. (Turkey), Mersin University (Advisor-Turkey), SVA Potsdam (Germany) and Piri Reis University (Advisor-Turkey) participated.

As a result of mutual positive negotiations, the work plan prepared to design and produce a much more efficient and environmentally friendly boat was accepted. This eco-friendly boat with low fuel consumption will also be able to reach high speeds. An Autonomous Navigation Assistant (INA) will be developed in order for the Slide Boat to predict critical situations that may occur during operations and to increase operational safety. Autonomous systems that will reduce the impact of human factors in marine accidents and increase safety and comfort will be integrated into the optimized boat design within the project. After model tests for numerical simulations and verification, comprehensive full-scale sea tests of the optimized prototype autonomous boat will be carried out.

AUTOPL Project, by the German Economy and Energy Ministry and TUBITAK Turkey, ERA-NET Cofund 's a European Union that is supported by Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, which martere to the (Maritime and Marine Technology for a New Era) is funded in the frame.

The MarTERA 2019 meeting was held on 15 September, via online videoconferencing, due to COVID-19 restrictions, with the participation of eleven countries, including MarTERA partners and coordinators of twelve funded projects. At the meeting, where the project coordinators emphasized the goals and ideas of their projects, UZMAR as the Project Coordinator presented the vision of the AUTOPLAN project. With the meeting where the goals and presentations were successfully conveyed, the project partners strengthened their communication regarding future collaborations.