Eightknot Joins "Great Lakes Smart Ships Coalition" for Autonomous Vessels in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region

Eightknot Inc. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Kita Ward, CEO: Hiroto Kimura), a developer of maritime intelligence technology, is pleased to announce its participation in the "Great Lakes Smart Ships Coalition" (hereinafter referred to as "the Coalition"), a public-private-academic consortium promoting the social implementation of autonomous vessels and USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles) in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region of the United States.

The Coalition is an international stakeholder community comprising government agencies, academic research institutions, private companies, non-profit organizations, and international organizations, with the aim of researching, demonstrating, and shaping policy for autonomous maritime technology.

Through this participation, Eightknot aims to grasp the market demand trends for USVs/ASVs (Autonomous Surface Vehicles) in North America, starting from the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region, and to secure opportunities for demonstrations in real-world fields. Additionally, we will work to form a policy and regulatory network through dialogue with administrative bodies and related organizations involved in establishing operational rules for autonomous vessels, as well as to understand competitive trends and consider potential collaborators by building networks with leading technology providers and research institutions in North America.

Last year, Eightknot was selected for a North American support program deployed by Hiroshima Prefecture, and this year, we have been selected for an acceleration program in Portugal and signed MOUs with companies in Malaysia and Singapore, accelerating our business expansion not only domestically but also overseas.

About the Great Lakes Smart Ships Coalition

The Great Lakes Smart Ships Coalition is an international consortium of stakeholders with a common interest in the development and social implementation of autonomous maritime technology in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region. Its main activities include demonstration of autonomous navigation technology, policy research, and cross-border and cross-sector stakeholder collaboration. It operates the "Marine Autonomy Research Site (MARS)," the world's first freshwater autonomous vessel testbed. Diverse members from government, academia, and industry, including NOAA, Transport Canada, Michigan Technological University, Kongsberg, Saildrone, and Wärtsilä, participate.

Website: https://www.smartshipscoalition.org/

[About Eightknot Inc.]

Eightknot's mission is "To make safe navigation a given through intelligence technology," and the company aims to realize a new standard for ships through the development of maritime intelligence technology.

We offer the "Eightknot AI CAPTAIN System," which is an add-on autonomous navigation system for ships, and the "Eightknot AI CAPTAIN Module," which allows individual functions such as maneuvering control, self-position estimation, real-time route generation, detection of other vessels and obstacles, and safety judgment to be incorporated into marine equipment and vessels on a module-by-module basis. Eightknot aims to create a world where everyone can use water mobility safely and comfortably while solving the challenges of the maritime industry through maritime intelligence.

Company Name: Eightknot Inc.

Established: March 8, 2021

Officers: Hiroto Kimura (Representative Director & CEO), Tomoaki Yokoyama (Director & CTO)

Head Office Location: 18F, Hilton Plaza West Office Tower, 2-2-2 Umeda, Kita Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture

Tokyo Office: 3C, Kujioka Daiichi Bldg., 1-16-8 Kameido, Koto Ward, Tokyo

Hiroshima Office: Room 405, HIOS HIROSHIMA, 7-1 Kami-Hatchobori, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture

Business Activities: Development and sales of autonomous navigation systems for water mobility

Website: https://8kt.jp/

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