Avikus bags 1st Level 2 autonomous navigation orders

Avikus successfully conducts the world’s first transoceanic voyage of a large merchant ship, relying on autonomous navigation technology HiNAS 2.0. (Avikus)

Avikus, an in-house venture under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, became the first autonomous navigation software company to sell Level 2 autonomous navigation solutions in the world.

Avikus signed order contracts with two South Korean shipping companies, SK Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine, to install Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS) 2.0 on a total of 23 large vessels, including container ships and LNG carriers, starting from August 2023, the company said Tuesday.

HiNAS 2.0 is an autonomous control technology added to the Level 1 autonomous navigation solution developed and commercialized by Avikus in 2020.

It enables a vessel to handle various unexpected situations by, for example, controlling the speed or changing direction to avoid a collision and returning to the route once the obstacle is gone, using the deep learning-based situation recognition and judgment functions.

The Level 2 autonomous navigation solution can also come up with the best and safest route based on accumulated marine-related and sailing data and minimize fuel consumption by automatically controlling the engine output of the vessel, the company said.

Avikus will be commercializing HiNAS 2.0 on recreational boats as well in 2023.

Previously, Avikus won orders for a total of 170 HiNAS 1.0 from domestic and overseas shipping companies and also received orders for 50 HiBAS, an AI-based navigation assistance system.

Avikus achieved a huge milestone on June 2 with its HiNAS 2.0 successfully navigating Prism Courage, a 134,000-ton commercial tanker, across the Pacific Ocean.

“In the future, we will strive to equip all large ships in the world with HiNAS 2.0 by obtaining approvals from various shipping groups and countries,” said Avikus CEO Lim Do-hyeong.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)