The Rise of Resilient Autonomous Vessels

Purdue and SAAB are joining forces to develop “self-healing” autonomous surface vessels—boats that can hold position, dock themselves, avoid hazards, and even recover from damage like a failing motor. Their approach blends human-machine teaming with adaptive autonomy: from full self-parking to shared control where a captain handles throttle while onboard intelligence manages precision steering. Alongside robust control algorithms, the team is designing intuitive visual interfaces to keep operators confident and in the loop. Early tests on a small lake show promising resilience and reliability, with the long-term vision aimed squarely at scaling these capabilities to larger vessels navigating real oceans.