MindChip developed solutions for electricity, electronics and navigation systems, and also the software that makes the ship autonomous. That specific ship is looking into fish supplies, but in the future similar ships can do many things.

The uses include mapping out the seabed, deliveries between island and mainland, monitoring underwater infrastructure or looking for mines.

The ship might do quite a few routine tasks that require a lot of time and human resources.

Mõlder says they are also developing a digital twin to help predict events on the sea by using other maritime information systems.

Mõlder said MindChip’s focus is developing a captain based on artificial intelligence. “Robots can use different sonars and sensors and the uses are endless,” Mõlder says. Usually someone monitors the journey and ship in case it needs new tasks or commands. But sometimes, they can train the ship smart enough to do a task entirely by itself.

Part of the development was done with the help of AI and Robotics Estonia (AIRE) that helped MindChip with developing object recognition capabilities.