Until recently, self-parking cars were considered revolutionary, but now self-docking boats are entering that stage. On a blustery day last September, I got aboard the Boston Whaler 405 Autonomous Docking Boat at Brunswick Corporation’s media day in New York. While I went in with no expectations, my perspective quickly changed when Brandon Ferriman approached me and began to explain the intricacies of this complex technology. Ferriman is the program director of Brunswick’s Autonomy and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) programs. Before joining Brunswick two years ago, he spent about 10 years working on autonomous operations in the automotive industry.
Ferriman explained that there are two key components to Brunswick’s autonomous docking technology, each requiring a profusion of intelligent information. The components are called Object Detection and Path Planner. Six stereo cameras with depth-processing capabilities are attached to the bow, stern, port and starboard sides of the 405 for a true, 360-degree capture. The video footage is fed to a computer belowdecks, which makes informed
decisions about the boat’s surroundings. At the helm, a screen on the portside of the dash displays the Path Planner, which allows owners to choose a route that they want their boat to follow. Ideally, a boat equipped with the autonomous docking technology is able to enter a slip on its own or exit one and navigate to a designated location on the water with just the press of a button. The Path Planner finds the safest route it can take, and identifies objects while it is underway. “It’s always monitoring,” Ferriman explained. “So, if while you’re going, a kid jumps off the dock out there, it’s going to see them and it’s going to move around them or stop and wait until they’re out of the way.”
Unlike parking a car, docking a boat is subject to more variables, which require additional “operator” awareness. Sea level, wind and wave conditions, foul weather and dock height are just a few of the elements that the system uses in its Object Detection Algorithm. In essence, the computer needs to be trained to recognize its surroundings, to ensure the technology will work anywhere in the world. To do so, the development team gathers extensive data that gets logged into the computer. “We’ve been working with Freedom Boat Club to create a portable camera data collection system,” said Ferriman. “We just go to a site, they give us a boat, we collect a bunch of data and teach [the computer] that.”
The Boston Whaler 405 with the autonomous system was equipped with triple 600-hp Mercury V12 Verados, with a bow thruster and joystick. Other engine configurations are possible, as long as there are at least two Mercury outboards and a Mercury joystick, which is required for autonomous operation. Bow thrusters are helpful in tight quarters, but they are not required for the autonomous technology to work.
To get us off the dock, a Brunswick representative turned on the Path Planner and selected a location just a few feet away. A path quickly developed on the screen. We stood back, and I watched with wide eyes as the engines powered up and down, turned to port and starboard and maneuvered the 405 off the dock and out of the slip. Within five minutes we were floating in the spot the Path Planner had been told to take us.
Brunswick plans to launch its autonomous system in 2025. Until then, it will be gathering more data and making refinements to the algorithm. “We’ll go back with the videos we have from here, and teach the algorithm,” Ferriman said.
Even with the technology, boaters can still control a vessel on their own. Said Ferriman, “The autonomous system will simply add an extra level of safety and peace of mind.”
This article was originally published in the January 2024 issue.
