The fantastic four of the future oceans: human, technology, organization and the marine life 

Oceans constitute about 71% of our globe and they are crucial to our food and energy supply, trade and transportation. According to the Research Council of Norway, not only is the Norwegian maritime industry an international leader, but Norway also has the highest proportion of marine scientists per capita in the world, with a focus on knowledge and technology development, sustainable management of the sea as well as health and safety. We are progressive in designing the future systems and when it comes to designing for the future of oceans, we need to consider safety, efficiency and performance of operations as our major goals. Consequently, we need to consider the major components, our fantastic four of the ocean system and their mutual interactions: humans, technology, organizations and the environment. It is when these components join and align together that the best outcome is achieved. In this village you will focus on these system components in the design of autonomous ocean operations featuring human-oriented system design, trustworthy technologies, the future organizational structure and employment implications, as well as the consequences of autonomy for marine life. Here you will have the opportunity to be part of an exciting and innovative research project on the first fully automated passenger ferry in Trondheim (MilliAmpere 2) to get inspiration and think of what the future could look like. 

Numerous research institutes and industries invest in ocean systems. One of the ground-breaking developments in autonomous ocean operation is Trondheim’s autonomous ferry, MilliAmpere 2, that is an on-demand, fully automated ferry capable of becoming part of the Trondheim fjord’s transportation service. In addition to that, the findings of this village will be applicable to broader ocean space operations around the globe.  

Identification of challenges, potential solutions and design implications for a system consisting various agents, requires students with knowledge about people, sea life, technology and organizations and the society, to look at issues from various perspectives and to create a balance between these system elements. The students will bring their knowledge and skills into the project and will interact, learn from and work with each other. 

Relevant competency

The topic of this village is relevant for students from social sciences, humanities, design and architecture, engineering, computer sciences, business management, technology management, economics and marine biology.  

About the village

• More background information about the village and the village theme: 

• The role of human agents in autonomous systems 

• Building and fostering trust in automated technologies 

• Futuristic organizations and employment changes¨ 

• The impact of autonomous ocean space operations and marine life research and preservation 

• Autonomous ferry (MilliAmpere2) and its implications for the municipality of Trondheim and its people 

• Potential external partners from business, research environments, conferences, links to web pages or other sources of information that may elaborate on the theme. 

• Possibilities to work on exciting projects 

The original basis of the village is the innovative and large scale NTNU project ‘Human in ocean operations of the future’ or MIDAS. This village is also connected to another project ‘Assuring Trustworthy, Safe and Sustainable Transport for All’ or TRUSST. The projects ‘partners include: 

• Department of Design (ID), NTNU (Project manager) 

• Department of International Business Operations (IIF), NTNU Ålesund 

• SINTEF Digital 

• Ocean Autonomy Cluster 

• Digital Norway 

• DNV TRUST 

• Zeabuz 

In addition, DNV, Norbit, Maritime Robotics, EGGS Design, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) are part of the design team in the project. The relevant projects and themes can be found here: 

• https://www.bluemaritimecluster.no/gce/forum-and-projects/midas/ 

• https://www.ntnu.edu/amos/newfrontpage 

• https://www.zeabuz.com/trusst 

• https://www.ntnu.edu/shorecontrol 

• Examples of research questions the student groups may use as a starting point 

How can autonomous technology for the ocean space: 

• Change what competence is needed and how work is done? 

• Change the aquaculture industry and produce food faster, better and more sustainable? 

• Make marine transport safer and more resilient? 

• Be trusted by its operators, passengers, and other stakeholders? 

• Become Norway’s new export industry?  

• Sustain population in rural areas along the coastline 

How do I register for EiT?