University and Industry Establish Foothold to Secure Leadership in Navigation and Communication Equipment Standardization Dominated by Europe and Japan
IEC TC80 Special Working Group on Autonomous Ships Reaches Agreement at Seoul Meeting on October 22-23
Unified Standards for Navigation, Communication, and Situation Awareness Equipment Set to Broaden Equipment Export Channels
President Ryu Dong-keun States, "Preempting Standards in Global Shipping and Shipbuilding Environments Equals Industrial Competitiveness"
Korea Maritime & Ocean University (President Ryu Dong-keun) is set to lead the development of the international standard for the 'camera-based situation awareness system' for autonomous ships. During the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TC80 (Technical Committee for Maritime Navigation and Radiocommunication Equipment and Systems) Special Working Group meeting on autonomous ships held in Seoul on October 22-23, participating countries agreed to have Korea Maritime & Ocean University spearhead the development of the standard. For a domestic university to take charge of standard development in a domain dealing with mandatory navigation and communication equipment on ships breaks away from conventional practices.
Hitherto, the standardization of marine navigation and communication equipment, along with the market, has been led by European and Japanese companies such as Kongsberg. Despite possessing superior technology, domestic entities faced high barriers to entering related standards and markets. For the past two years, Korea Maritime & Ocean University has formed an industry-centric 'Autonomous Ship Standards Council' with HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, Avikus, and the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association. Last year, the university led the establishment of the Special Working Group on Autonomous Ships within TC80, preparing for the establishment of international standards based on domestic technology.
At this meeting, participants agreed to initiate standard development not only for camera-based situation awareness systems but also for core autonomous ship equipment such as Autonomous Navigation Systems (ANS) and Remote Operation Systems. Because the autonomous ship market operates with navigation equipment, software, and communication infrastructure bundled together, the international practice is that the country holding the standard first also captures the market. For the domestic shipbuilding and marine equipment industry, which has largely relied on foreign equipment, securing the right to establish standards is diagnosed as direct export competitiveness.
Professor Lee Kwang-il of the Department of Artificial Intelligence Engineering at Korea Maritime & Ocean University, who chairs the working group, stated, "In a reality where most marine navigation equipment is foreign-made, this standard development will serve as a bridgehead for domestic technological leadership and entry into the global market." He also emphasized that beyond simply creating technical standards, industry-centered standardization efforts and support are necessary to apply them to actual vessels and generate markets. The next challenge is whether this agreement can expand beyond export channels for individual devices into the international standardization of overall core technologies for autonomous ships.