Seamless human-machine teaming for safe and scalable operation of autonomous passenger ferries

The Autoteaming project will develop new technologies for seamless human-machine teaming to accelerate the digital transformation of Norway’s maritime industry. Recent technology advancements in machine autonomy have demonstrated the potential to significantly enhance maritime operations by improving efficiency, safety, and sustainability. This technology potential is underscored by increasing mobility and environmental demands paired with a lack of qualified navigators. Contemporary design has been guided by the conviction that technology should replace tasks normally done by humans. The problem with this approach is that when the unexpected happens or when the automation inevitably fails, a human navigator must be in the loop to take swift and decisive preventive actions. Therefore, to succeed at leveraging the advantages of advanced automation, the technologies must be designed to support navigators, not replace them. Our vision is that humans and machines can form effective teams, and we intend to demonstrate this with small-scale autonomous ferries supervised from a fully integrated remote control centre. The outcomes of the project will be novel automation transparency and decision-support technologies for seamless human-machine teaming. As of October 2025, the project has resulted in the development of a groundbreaking new operator station for remote control and monitoring of NTNU's development ferry milliAmpere1, as well as the development of machine control functionality that enables a human to interact effectively with the ferry from the operator station. Many lectures have been given, many articles have been published, several student assignments have been completed and the project has received several media reports, both in print and on TV.

The Autoteaming project will develop new technologies for seamless human-machine teaming to accelerate the digital transformation of Norway’s maritime industry. Recent technology advancements in machine autonomy have demonstrated the potential to significantly enhance maritime operations by improving efficiency, safety, and sustainability. This technology potential is underscored by increasing mobility and environmental demands paired with a lack of qualified navigators. Contemporary design has been guided by the conviction that technology should replace tasks normally done by humans. The problem with this approach is that when the unexpected happens or when the automation inevitably fails, a human navigator must be in the loop to take swift and decisive preventative actions. Therefore, to succeed at leveraging the advantages of advanced automation, the technologies must be designed to support navigators, not supplant them. Our vision is that humans and machines can form effective teams, and we intend to demonstrate this with small-scale autonomous ferries supervised from a fully integrated remote control centre. This will be accomplished by combining existing world-leading research infrastructures, including two proven autonomous urban passenger ferry prototypes and a laboratory dedicated to remote supervisory control of maritime operations. Three work packages are proposed: the first incorporates communication of status and intent into the autonomous control system of an urban autonomous ferry; the second designs an interface in line with real human needs and work tasks; the third consists of field tests of human-machine teaming for supervised multi-vessel operations. The outcomes of the project will be novel automation transparency and decision-support technologies for seamless human-machine teaming. The Autoteaming project will culminate in a demonstration of the world’s first remotely supervised autonomous passenger ferries without navigators onboard.