Chennai: Students of the department of ocean engineering at IIT-Madras have won the 2026 Njord Challenge, an international competition in Norway that tests autonomous surface vessels under real-world maritime conditions.

Team Aritra secured the overall championship with 90.42 points, finishing ahead of MYS YAVUZ from Türkiye (79.90) and AGH Solar Boat from Poland (79.63). The competition, organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), was held in Trondheim from August 10 to 14 and featured 23 teams with around 150 participants from nine countries.

Teams were assessed on autonomous docking, collision avoidance, manoeuvring and pathfinding, besides technical inspection, reporting and presentation. A surprise autonomy challenge also tested their ability to adapt to unfamiliar situations.

The team was mentored by Dr Abhilash Sharma Somayajula and Prof M.A. Atmanand, with support from the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory. Extensive testing at the ocean engineering department’s wave basin and the IIT-M campus lake helped prepare the team.

Team Aritra’s victory builds on the IIT-M’s earlier success at the competition, where another cohort finished third globally and won the Sustainability Award in 2023. Autonomous surface vessels have potential applications in maritime surveillance, infrastructure monitoring, environmental data collection and hydrographic surveys.

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