Callboats is the first company in the world to offer autonomous, self-propelled water taxi rides between Helsinki and the nearby archipelago. The electric boats are solar-powered and aim to drastically reduce prices and address the shortage of captains.
According to the company, 60-70% of transport costs are caused by fees for captains. By using autonomous vessels, one captain can operate five water taxis. This ensures better margins in certain seasons and lower prices for consumers.
Current regulations still require these self-propelled boats to have at least one crew member on board. But the boats should be able to do the whole job themselves. To this end, they are equipped with several 360-degree cameras and sensors. These monitor the environment and detect hazards. They also navigate the waterways and automatically extend gangways at piers.
The boats themselves are made for 10 people and have four 10-kW electric drives. These guarantee a relaxed maximum speed of 9 knots (17 km/h). The standard 60-kWh battery has a range of about nine hours at a speed of 6 knots. The 1.5 kW solar panel on the roof charges the battery to 8-10 kWh. The rest is fed via an 11 kW three-phase charger.
They taxis will sail between Helsinki and the islands of Kotiluoto, Villaluoto and Malkasaari. These are short trips of up to a few miles per round trip. Callboats says autonomous sailing will improve access to these islands.
Watch a short video below of what is believed to be an earlier test version of similar autonomous software on a smaller six-seat boat.
