DigitalSOW research project launched – Spree-Oder Waterway becomes digital test site for automated and autonomous inland navigation

The projects for automated and autonomous inland navigation in Berlin-Brandenburg continue to gain momentum. In late June 2021, the research project DigitalSOW - Digital test site for automated and autonomous inland navigation on the Spree-Oder-Waterway (SOW) started. As part of the joint project, a digital test site is to be set up and operated on the SOW to investigate, develop, and test concepts, algorithms, and technologies for automated and connected driving.

The focus is on the efficient integration of the waterway into a city logistics concept for supply and waste disposal of the capital region. Taking advantage of primary and secondary waterways, small, low-emission, and automated vessels are expected to lead to greater utilization of the waterway and thus relieve the pressure on goods transport by road. As part of the research project, a section of the Spree-Oder Waterway, which includes the port of Königs Wusterhausen and the Dahme River, will be equipped with digital sensor technology. This is to record the traffic situation as well as the waterway conditions in real time and support ship positioning. In two years, if everything goes according to plan, autonomous ships could then be handled at the Port of Königs Wusterhausen.

The project consortium is led by Alberding GmbH in Wildau. Cooperation partners include the Institute of Communication and Navigation of the German Aerospace Center, Schiffbau-Versuchsanstalt Potsdam GmbH, the Department of Design and Operation of Maritime Systems of the Technische Universität Berlin, the Institute of Automation Technology of the University of Rostock, and the Association for European Inland Navigation and Waterways.

The project is supported by BEHALA - Berliner Hafen- und Lagerhausgesellschaft mbH, LUTRA GmbH - Hafen Königs Wusterhausen, the shipping company Edline, as well as the Economic Development Agency Brandenburg and the Ministry of Infrastructure and State Planning of the State of Brandenburg.

The DigitalSOW project is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) with a total of 4.2 million euros as part of the funding guidelines for investments in the development of digital test sites on federal waterways. The research results are expected to be available by fall 2023.


Your Press Contact:
Jürgen Alberding (Project Leader) | Alberding GmbH
Phone: + 49 (0)3375 5250 370
Email: ja@alberding.eu 
Website: www.digitalsow.de