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WhitePaper AKOON
Autonomous inland
waterway navigation

Autonomously
crossing the Rhinewith AKOON
In many regions of the world, ferries are an important component of transportation
infrastructure. Ferry operations avoid the need for often long and time-consuming
detours along rivers and lakes. As a result, ferries also help reduce fuel consumption
and emissions. To further increase this contribution, and at the same time makeferry operations even safer, Voith, Rheinfähre Maul, the Institute of AutomaticControl at the RWTH Aachen University, and Argonav joined forces in a three-yearcollaborative project to develop a system for “automated and coordinatednavigation of inland ferries” (AKOON in German).
Within the scope of this project, a Rhine ferry operating near
Mainz between Oestrich-Winkel and Ingelheim was ﬁtted with:+ a track-following system with active collision avoidance,+ a positioning assistant,+ eight laser scanners and radar for monitoring
the surrounding area and+ other sensors, including for environmental andcondition monitoring.

With over 600,000 people and 300,000 vehicles transported
each year, the ferry service is an indispensable part of thelocal transportation infrastructure.
Thanks to the systems developed, the crossing, as wellas the berthing and casting off at the pier, can be done
automatically. The ferry skipper only has a supervisory role.

Less fuel,more safety
In spring 2023, the project partners
analyzed the data from the research
project and found that intelligent route
planning and optimized control of thepropulsion units allow the ferry operator
to save around 11 percent diesel ayear, i.e., between € 10,000 and € 20,000
depending on fuel prices. In addition, bymeans of continuous trafﬁc monitoring,
the autonomous steering system ensures maximum safety on the roughly
1 km long route. It is considered to be
especially challenging due to narrowpassages, sandbanks, strong currents
and the high volume of trafﬁc travelingalong the river.

is a key factor in this success. They offer
a combined propulsion and steeringsystem with fast response times thatallow the ferry to maneuver quickly,
safely and precisely – and track thedesired path accuratly at all times. In
addition, the autonomous system andthe VSPs enable the ferry to maintain its
position despite winds and currents
and without having to anchor or moor.
Thanks to this digital support, the ferry
only deviated a maximum of 12 cm
from its desired set-point. These values
would barely be achievable with ahuman being at helm. These developments will continue to be reﬁned within
the scope of the autoFerry project.

The propulsion system of the ferry, consisting of four Voith Schneider Propellers,

Drive and steering in one:the Voith Schneider Propeller(VSP)
Due to its design, the Voith
Schneider Propeller generates
thrust in any direction. It istherefore a combined propulsion
and steering system. Thanks tothe very fast response time tocontrol commands, the VSP alsoenables fast, safe and precise
maneuvering even under adverse
conditions, making it the ideal
drive system for autonomous
vessels.

Vessel data Horst ferry+ Built in: 1987
+ Displacement: 255 t+ Length/width: 57 m/13.40 m+ Load carrying capacity: 135 t+ Propulsion: 4 x Voith Schneider
Propellers VSP10E+ Drive power: around 1,000 hp+ Max. number of passengers: 250+ Max. number of vehicles: 32 cars

VT 2598, en, 2024-01, ECB. All data and information are indicative only and subject to change without notice.

Voith GroupSt. Poeltener Str. 4389522 Heidenheim, Germany
Contact:
Phone + 49 7321 37-2055
marine@voith.com
www.voith.com/marine