IIT Madras Team Wins 2026 Njord Challenge in Norway for Autonomous Vessel
IIT Madras’s Team Aritra won the 2026 Njord Challenge in Norway after competing against 22 international teams with an autonomous surface vessel.
Three students from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras have won the 2026 Njord Challenge in Trondheim, Norway, with their autonomous surface vessel. Team Aritra, from IIT Madras’s Department of Ocean Engineering, finished first among 23 teams representing nine countries at the competition held from August 10 to 14.
The Njord Challenge, organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, tests student-built boats on autonomous navigation and manoeuvring. Participants are required to complete tasks including route planning, obstacle avoidance, precise docking and movement through water, along with an unexpected challenge designed to test their ability to respond to unfamiliar situations.
Team Aritra scored 90.42 points, ahead of Türkiye’s MYS YAVUZ with 79.90 points and Poland’s AGH Solar Boat with 79.63 points. The IIT Madras team achieved full marks in pathfinding and manoeuvring after months of testing at the institute’s water-testing facility and campus lake.
The team comprised Aarav Patel, S Gurukesav and Madhava Sai, with mentoring from Dr Abhilash Sharma Somayajula and Prof M A Atmanand and support from the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory.
During the competition, the students overcame magnetic interference affecting navigation equipment and interference between the camera and GPS systems. They modified the system to restore reliable navigation.
Autonomous vessels have potential applications in port monitoring, coastal surveys, marine data collection and other maritime operations. IIT Madras had previously secured third place in the Njord Challenge in 2023.
