Duisburg (dpa/lnw) - Scientists from the Duisburg Shipping Research Institute DST christened a 15-meter model of a cargo ship "Ella" at the Rhine port on Friday and lowered it into the water with a crane. With the large model, the largely independent and later fully autonomous driving should be tested, said project manager Jan Oberhagemann. For the time being, however, there are still technical challenges and legal hurdles: So far, a skipper has had to be on board just in case.
In a test field on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the ship is to practice automated navigation and maneuvering in narrow waterways as well as docking and casting off in ports and locks. It has sensors and cameras for this.
