3D-printed, autonomous ferry can transport athletes and visitors to and from paris olympics

Helping passengers join paris olympics 2024

A 3D-printed, autonomous ferry can be used as a means of transport to take athletes and visitors to and from the Paris Olympics 2024. The proposed self-driving electric watercraft by the collective Roboat, Holland Shipyards Group, and Sequana Développement won a national call for autonomous passenger boat projects initiated by the French inland waterway authority, Voies Navigables de France.

The consortium’s 3D-printed electric ferry might be the largest printed autonomous ferry ever with its dimensions of 9 by 3.90 meters. The self-driving ferry is boosted by electric propulsion and anchors a 3D-printed hull made of recycled materials. It is set to be deployed in the summer of 2024 in a key location that is deemed to be revealed closer to the date of the Olympics, but surely in the vicinity of the major sporting events.

The collective working on the 3D-printed, self-driving ferry says that the transportation allows athletes and visitors joining the Paris Olympics 2024 ‘to fulfill their mobility needs in a new and environmentally friendly manner.’ The partners have announced that the ferry is slated to operate on the river Seine, connecting the Athlete’s Village site with the island of L’Île-Saint-Denis, during the summer of 2024. This means that in just a few months, this ferry will be built, tested, and shipped to France.

images courtesy of Roboat

3D-printed, autonomous ferry charges wirelessly

The 3D-printed, autonomous ferry packs a mind of its own. Roboat, Holland Shipyards Group, and Sequana Développement say that aside from the self-driving water vehicle being fully electric, it can also be charged wirelessly – no plugs needed – and can automatically dock and moor itself without anyone’s help. The technology that the partners plan to use is still hidden in plain sight, but with the advancement of artificial intelligence these days, it may be possible for the group to look into its rapid-advancing tools.

Glancing at the first concept of the partners, the ferry is imagined to have a single, long bench to open up more space and allow more passengers and athletes at one ride. It may be the largest printed autonomous ferry, but the jury is still out with the ferry’s maximum weight load. The partners have mentioned using recycled materials for the ferry, and this may indicate the lightweight attributes of the water vehicle.

the vehicle might be the largest printed autonomous ferry ever with its dimensions of 9 by 3.90 meters

Semi-transparent glass encloses the ferry, even the top, protecting the athletes and visitors from extreme sunlight while offering them expansive views of Paris’ surroundings. Looking at the bottom of the ferry, the design seems to narrow down into a hull-shaped bottom. Here, the partners eye to install a rafter to support the boat’s tilting.

Thick geometric lines line the interior and exterior of the ferry doused in complementing white and gray colors to soften the atmosphere and make the vehicle instantly visible from afar. Stepping inside, LED lighting shows up through the embedded beam design into the floor, walls, and ceiling of the boat, emitting a glow into the gray-basked inside.

the preliminary design imagines a single long bench to open up more space