Boats that will pull themselves into a slip while you and your guests sip cocktails could be here by the end of the decade.
. He was at the helm of a fully self-docking Volvo-powered Azimut as it effortlessly eased itself between a pair of priceless race boats. That system, despite its flawless demonstration, wasn’t quite ready for prime time, but last year a pared-back version of Assisted Docking made its debut as an option on Volvo’s engines, using a combination of IPS and GPS-based Dynamic Positioning System data along with information from steering, transmission, bow-thruster and engine controls.
The system neutralizes wind, tide and current, making docking in tight, gusty quarters less of a potential catastrophe . Essentially, the joystick control keeps the boat moving, in a straight line or laterally, without it getting pushed around. When your hand comes off the joystick, the boat stops immediately rather than gliding into trouble; a Side Push button keeps it pinned against the dock without having to tie up.
According to Volvo’s Thorin, assisted docking is part of a company autonomy strategy that will next tackle collision avoidance on the way, eventually, to fully autonomous boats. “There’s a lot of learning ahead before full autonomy becomes a reality,” says John Reid, vice president of enterprise technologies at, the world’s largest marine company. Radar, GPS, electronic charts, Lidar, image sensors and more will be used to identify potential hazards, which means an enormous amount of data will need to be analyzed by onboard computers before coherent information is conveyed to the boater.
Brunswick already offers joystick docking, and according to company plans its ACES initiative—for Autonomy, Connectivity, Electrification and Shared Access—will eventually have 35 products. But like Thorin, Reid won’t reveal an internal timeline to full autonomy. “We’ll be delivering incremental enhancements to control the vessel,” he says. “But it will take time to go through production phases.”
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