You've Heard Of Self-Driving Cars, But How About Autonomous Ships?

<p>There&#39;s a good chance boats of the future might not need fuel, ship hands or even a captain to navigate the seas.</p><p>Two Norwegian companies are creating the world&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/norway-takes-lead-in-race-to-build-autonomous-cargo-ships-1500721202?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Post%20Blast%20%28bii-iot%29:%20The%20potential%20of%20autonomous%20cargo%20ships%20%E2%80%94%20Kakao%20speech%20recognition%20comes%20to%20Hyundais%2C%20Kias%20%E2%80%94%20UK%20looks%20to%20combat%20unlawful%20drone%20use&utm_term=BII%20List%20IoT%20ALL" target="_blank">first autonomously operated container ship</a>. The $25 million vessel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.km.kongsberg.com/ks/web/nokbg0238.nsf/AllWeb/98A8C576AEFC85AFC125811A0037F6C4?OpenDocument" target="_blank">wouldn&#39;t need a crew</a>&nbsp;or gas and might cut operating costs up to 90 percent.</p><p><a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/spacex_thaicom_8_press_kit.pdf" target="_blank">SpaceX</a>&nbsp;also uses autonomous tech for its&nbsp;<a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/spacex_thaicom_8_press_kit.pdf" target="_blank">spaceport drone ships</a>. They&#39;re landing platforms for rockets returning from orbit.</p><p><b>SEE MORE: <a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/boaty-mcboatface-got-unprecedented-data-on-first-mission/">Boaty McBoatface Is Back From Its Successful Maiden Voyage</a></b></p><p>And military forces are even harnessing the technology. Last year, an autonomous, submarine-hunting warship aptly named&nbsp;<a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/military-robots/darpa-actuv-self-driving-submarine-hunter-steers-like-a-human" target="_blank">Sea Hunter</a>&nbsp;was christened. It doesn&#39;t need humans to navigate obstacle-filled waters.</p><p>And small Navy ships can use the tech, too. In 2014, officials demonstrated 13 ships, some autonomous and some remote-controlled, could find an enemy vessel and escort a target to safety.</p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/spacex-joins-top-5-private-tech-companies-after-valuation/">SpaceX Is Now One Of The Most Valuable US Tech Companies</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-became-forbes-richest-person/">For The First Time, Jeff Bezos Became Forbes&#039; Richest Person</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/stories/tech-contractor-foxconn-to-build-factory-in-wisconsin/">Tech Company To Invest $10B, Build Factory In Wisconsin</a></li></ul>