Nowadays, automated navigation covers a very wide range of technical solutions and use cases – ranging from simple navigation assistance to fully automated navigation.

As with maritime or road transport, technological developments to do with automated navigation attract particular scrutiny by the inland navigation sector. Inland navigation international projects, such as LAESSI, RAVEN or NOVIMAR are attempting to develop more automated navigation. Beyond evaluating the technical capabilities and associated advantages / disadvantages, implementing demonstrators should enable actual experience to be gathered.

Unlike other modes of transport, no international definition of automation levels in inland navigation is currently available. At the Consultative Conference on 10 October 2017, the Secretariat reported that it would work on a draft international definition.

The Secretariat is pleased to submit in the annex an initial proposal defining automation levels. This proposal is the outcome of documentary analysis, in particular a comparison with other modes of transport