Image from Simrad AutoCaptain, which autonomously docks and undocks recreational marine vessels.

Brunswick Corporation

Pulling a vehicle into a parking space from a stable roadway is a piece of cake compared to successfully docking a boat where constantly changing conditions and the nature of how a vessel is controlled can make the operation both challenging a little scary for some recreational mariners.

How nice would it be to touch a few controls and watch the boat dock or undock itself?

That’s exactly what AutoCaptain does.

Created by recreational marine leader Brunswick Corporation and sold under its Simrad brand, AutoCaptain can dock, undock and execute small maneuvers autonomously.

“It does it with essentially six stereo cameras that are positioned around the boat and allow you to do visualization and ranging, so it understands its environment 360 degrees, and even in very low light conditions, provides that input through a system that involves the NVIDIA processor,” explained Brunswick CEO Dave Foulkes, in an interview, “It plots a path. It works out how to deal with obstacle avoidance and then it does all of the close quarter maneuvering by controlling the propulsion system naturally.”

As with an increasing number of tasks today, artificial intelligence plays a role in AutoCaptain’s operation, but not in the same way AI large-language models work.

Similar to AI operating autonomous vehicles, AutoCaptain is guided by what’s known as computer vision, machine learning, or CVML.

“It's more specialized capability, and there needs it needs to be all done on the boat,” explained Foulkes. “Boats are not reliably connected to the internet or external devices or compute capability. So what it does has to be localized to the vessel.”

What makes docking and undocking so tricky is the combination of unstable environment and how a boat is actually controlled.

Indeed, unlike vehicle drivers, in addition to forward, backwards, left or right, boat captains must consider heave, pitch, roll and yaw, while constantly adjusting for wind, waves and current, explained Foulkes.

In addition, boats can’t turn on a dime or react immediately to acceleration or braking like cars or trucks. There’s a latency, or lag, between the time the throttle or steering are adjusted and the boat’s response, he added.

It can all be enough to scare off some would-be boaters from purchasing a vessel.

But both Foulkes and the head of a consumer electronics organization say combining AI with other technologies is allaying those concerns by making boating easier and less intimidating for both experienced and inexperienced individuals.

While autonomously docking and undocking is AutoCaptain’s immediate mission, Brunswick plans to greatly expand its capabilities to execute autopilot features in open water, similar to a road vehicle collision detection and blind spot monitoring, according to Foulkes.

Beyond recreational marine, Kelly Fabrizio, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, sees the same technology, especially physical AI used in AutoCaptain, simplifying many other tasks.

“We saw physical AI emerge across robotics, autonomous mobility, smart home devices, health tech and industrial applications,” said Fabrizio in an interview conducted via email. “What stands out is that these systems are becoming more capable of understanding their surroundings, adapting to changing conditions and performing increasingly complex tasks.”

Fabrizio sees future uses expand to what she described as household robotics, assistive technologies that support aging populations and accessibility, autonomous mobility, smart infrastructure and AI-powered devices that can proactively support consumers in their daily lives.

Brunswick’s Foulkes says the convenience of technology doesn’t remove the need for training and safe operation, and in the end “it's about being confident and relaxed and feeling you're in control.”