Island and peninsula communities in the Puget Sound are often isolated from regional cities likeSeattle and Tacoma due to large transit time by road. Regional ferry systems are large and expensive to operate, limiting the number of service times and access points. Most of the ferries only operate between larger regional towns and major cities, isolating smaller communities that often lack bus services as well. Autonomous electric ferries offer a unique low-carbon option to better connect rural communities in the region. In recent years, the Washington state ferry system has struggled with staffing and maintenance of older diesel ferry systems. For example, the residents of Anderson Island and Ketron Island in the south Puget Sound region are served by one ferry that connects them to the mainland. For Ketron Island, the ferry runs only 4 times per day and was out of service completely for several days recently while the ferry was being repaired. This project will focus on addressing key technical objectives with the autonomous ferries, including
(1) autonomous docking procedures,
(2)optimization of possible routes for weather and tidal events, and
(3) building deeper partnerships with commercialization partners.
Our methods will include literature review, weather and tidal data collection, design and prototyping, and testing.
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