Visit to Harwich depot, where Trinity House services UK aids to navigation.
RCA Press Office
The public university in the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Art (RCA), is launching a new initiative to co-design and develop low-cost aids to navigation suitable for sustainable local construction and maintenance.
Ships at sea rely on aids to navigation (AtoN) that must comply with global standards set by the International Organisation for Marine Aids to Navigation. However, these systems often involve high costs, logistical challenges, limited resources, and a lack of local technical expertise.
"As the oceans around us change, it's crucial to collaborate and develop sustainable co-designed solutions for safer navigation for all. This is a very exciting project that builds on our experience of Design for Safety at sea, New Economic Models for the Ocean, and Engineering Design Innovation," said Professor Ashley Hall.
RCA's initiative will allow local communities to take part in designing and building AtoN solutions together, using their knowledge of local materials and encouraging the sharing of expertise between project partners.
Regarding this, Director of Technologies at Lloyd's Register Foundation, Jan Przydatek, explained: "Focusing on small island developing states (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the project develops local solutions to achieve global safety standards, which is key to making safety accessible for everyone, reflecting our mission to engineer a safer world."
The results will be documented in a joint publication that will serve as a roadmap for future implementation, helping to ensure safer and more productive oceans for all nations, regardless of their economic status.
The project will run for three years and has a combined grant of £1.1 million. It is also supported by Hawkshill Consulting, the International Organisation for Marine Aids to Navigation, and funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF) and the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).
"When navigation is safer, communities are freer to thrive. By combining design innovation, technical expertise, and local knowledge, this project has the potential to deliver practical and sustainable solutions for vulnerable coastal communities," concluded IFAN Chief Executive Officer, Catherine Mulvihill.
