Norway maritime AI research centre planned at NTNU, Trondheim, with NOK 100m funding over 5 years

“This is very good news for NTNU. We are a university with strong academic environments in artificial intelligence, marine and maritime research. We also have a long experience of collaborating with both the industry, the public sector and other research communities. This will be of great value for a centre that is the first of its kind in the world,” says Pro-Rector Toril Hernes.

Ready to do the work

Professor Tor Arne Johansen from the Department of Engineering Cybernetics will lead the research centre. He is very pleased with the news and looks forward to taking on a major task.

“Digitalisation and artificial intelligence are transforming our society at a pace we have never seen before. For a maritime nation such as Norway, it is essential that the technology we research finds practical applications that make a difference,” says Professor Tor Arne Johansen.

He continues:

“Our research may, for example, play a key role in developing technology that allows us to monitor and safeguard large ocean areas, as well as solve practical and logistical challenges resulting from a shortage of maritime personnel, which is already a challenge today”.

Strong partners

The centre’s partners include leading universities with strong expertise in AI and maritime research, and around 30 user partners from the maritime industry. See the complete list at forskningsradet.no. 

At NTNU, three faculties and eight departments are involved:

Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering

• Department of Engineering Cybernetics

• Department of ICT and Natural Sciences

• Department of Computer Science

Faculty of Engineering

• Department of Marine Technology

• Department of Ocean Operations and Civil Engineering in NTNU Ålesund

• Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

• Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Faculty of Architecture and Design

• Department of Design

Other research partners include the University of Oslo, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, SINTEF Nordvest, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET), and the Norwegian Mapping Authority.