DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
[ Ссылка ]
In earlier times, cities like Trondheim and Bergen had a ferryman who rowed people from place to place. They were the taxi drivers of the waterways. Now, a new, future-oriented form of water transport will be available to the public.
The autonomous passenger ferry milliAmpere 2 is now running shuttle traffic across the main channel in Trondheim until mid-October. The public can jump on board during the trial period and test the new technology, while researchers survey the public’s experiences.
This is the first time a self-propelled electric passenger ferry has been put into trial operation along urban waterways.
Autonomous and electric passenger ferries could replace expensive, space-consuming and less eco-friendly bridges and tunnels in cities with waterways that are an integral part of the city core.
The technology has the potential to revitalize public transport in a sustainable way by using urban waterways in a new way.
“This is the first step towards a new form of micromobility in cities with urban waterways,” says Morten Breivik, an associate professor at NTNU’s Department of Engineering Cybernetics.
“In the longer term, the technology can be further developed to create green, flexible and cost-effective transport along the entire Norwegian coast,” he says. Breivik plays a key role in the interdisciplinary environment at NTNU that has developed the technology.
“These ferries will be significantly cheaper to operate than staffed ferries and can be more easily deployed on multiple routes as necessary. In the long term, the ferries may make it more attractive to live in the district, particularly for young people who want access to better mobility options,” he said.
DIG DEEPER at Norwegian SciTech News:
[ Ссылка ]
