Space for autonomous shipping

Just as driverless cars could be the future of the automotive industry, captain-less ships could be the future of the shipping industry. Autonomous shipping has the potential to significantly lower the cost of shipping, increase safety, solve anticipated crew shortages, and improve working conditions.

But autonomous shipping relies on an accurate and continuously-available navigation system. ESA's Discovery & Preparation has supported studies into how to enhance existing satellite navigation systems to enable autonomous shipping, for example by combining them with ground-based systems to improve positioning accuracy.