IIT Madras students win global autonomous ship-building challenge in Norway

Three students from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) have secured an international victory in Norway, emerging on top in a competition that tests the ability of student-built boats to navigate and operate autonomously.

Team Aritra from IIT Madras’ Department of Ocean Engineering won the 2026 Njord Challenge in Trondheim, held from August 10 to 14, finishing ahead of 22 teams representing nine countries.

The competition, organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, challenges students to design, build and operate autonomous surface vessels capable of performing tasks with minimal human intervention.

The boats rely on cameras, navigation equipment and computer systems to interpret their surroundings and make decisions while moving through the water. Teams were tested on a range of tasks, including parking the vessel at a designated location, avoiding obstacles, finding routes and navigating through the course.

The challenge also featured a surprise task, putting the teams’ ability to respond to an unfamiliar situation to the test.

IIT Madras scores 90.42 points

Team Aritra topped the competition with 90.42 points. MYS YAVUZ from Türkiye finished second with 79.90 points, followed by Poland’s AGH Solar Boat with 79.63 points.

The IIT Madras team secured full marks in route-finding and boat-control tasks, reflecting months of preparation and testing at the institute’s water-testing facility and campus lake.

The winning team comprised Aarav Patel, S Gurukesav and Madhava Sai. The students were mentored by Dr Abhilash Sharma Somayajula and Prof M A Atmanand, with support from the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory.

Technical problems test the team’s preparation

The competition was not without setbacks. The team encountered technical issues that forced the students to troubleshoot their systems under pressure.

Strong magnetic interference affected a device used by the boat to determine its movement and direction. The team also discovered interference between the camera and GPS systems.

The students had to identify the sources of the problems and make adjustments to ensure the vessel could continue navigating reliably during the competition.

Autonomous vessels have wider maritime applications

Autonomous surface vessels are being developed for a range of applications, including port monitoring, coastal surveillance, marine data collection and ocean surveys.

IIT Madras Director Prof V Kamakoti congratulated the students on their achievement and encouraged them to take their work forward for applications that could benefit the country.

The institute had earlier secured third place in the Njord Challenge in 2023 and also won the competition’s Sustainability Award.