While there are government-approved test sites for land-based autonomous vehicles in the US, so far there is only one official test site for their seafaring counterparts. Tucked away in Norway’s Trondheim Fjord, the test site offers wide, open waters similar to a small sea, but with relatively low shipping traffic so there’s less of a chance of a collision should one of the test vehicles go haywire. The site officially opened late last year, but thanks to the cluster of research institutions and businesses in the area, companies like Kongsberg Seatex, Marintek, Maritime Robotics and Rolls-Royce Marine have all flocked to the fjord to test their new robotic and autonomous technologies.
via Engadget
