Raymarine and Avikus announce partnership
Avikus HD, Hyundai’s autonomous navigation in-house startup, and marine electronics specialist Raymarine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the integration of the world’s first autonomous leisure boat solution, the Avikus NeuBoat, into Raymarine’s navigational products.
Announced yesterday (27 October 2022) at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the MoU also includes an agreement to explore the future of autonomous leisure boating and joint development.
The partnership will harness Raymarine’s expertise in marine electronics and Avikus’ autonomous leisure boat technology and see the two companies working towards integrating NeuBoat and Raymarine products to bring autonomous boating to the leisure market.
Gregoire Outters, general manager at Raymarine, comments: “Raymarine strives to provide the most innovative, user-friendly and reliable electronics to make boating accessible and safe for everyone. With Avikus’ proven solution in autonomous commercial marine, the signing of this MOU will pave the way for our engineers to work closely together, to deliver this exciting new technology to our leisure boat customers.”
The companies say that autonomous boating technology will reduce difficulties in boating, such as docking and navigation in heavy traffic areas, making boat ownership more attractive, both for existing and new boaters.
“This MoU is groundbreaking as it will result in future boaters being able to have all their navigational equipment from Raymarine combined with Avikus NeuBoat, the next generation autonomous navigation system,” says Dohyeong Lim, CEO of Avikus.
“No other technology has changed the boating experience the way NeuBoat will. Boating on the open water is often seen as the ultimate experience of freedom, but what kind of freedom is it when you must constantly worry about collisions, safety and navigation? With NeuBoat you can experience the true freedom of the open sea on your own terms.”
Avikus is currently demonstrating its autonomous navigation solutions for leisure boat at FLIBS (stand 627, 26 – 30 October). Earlier this year, the company announced it was collaborating with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) to specialise in autonomous navigation technologies for ships.
