Autonomous Electric Ferries (Autoferry) - Low Carbon Connectors

Island and peninsula communities in the Puget Sound are often isolated from regional cities like Seattle 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 repaired. The prior work on this project confirmed that equity issues exist for most existing ferry routes that could be targeted with smaller and autonomous ferries. 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. The research team's methods will include literature review, weather and tidal data collection, design and prototyping, and testing.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $98,258.19
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348321

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Rural Equitable and Accessible Transportation Center

  Florida A&M University
  Tallahassee, FL  United States 
• Project Managers:

  Moses, Ren

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Washington Tacoma

  1900 Commerce Street
  Tacoma, Washington  United States 

  Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster

  2021 NW Myhre Road, Suite 100
  Silverdale, Washington  United States 

  Numurus LLC

  909 NE Boat St, Suite 304
  Seattle, Washington  United States 
• Principal Investigators:

  Dillon, Heather

  Kalambay, Panick

  McCourt, Mike

  Walters, Jeffrey P.

  Kitali, Angela

• Start Date: 20240707
• Expected Completion Date: 20250630
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Climate change adaptation; Decarbonization; Electric vehicles; Ferries; Rural areas; Transportation equity
• Geographic Terms: Puget Sound Region
• Subject Areas: Environment; Marine Transportation; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01945615
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Rural Equitable and Accessible Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348321
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Feb 12 2025 3:35PM