About us
25/03/2025
Official launch of DigitalSOW2 project
Project start DigitalSOW2 - Networked and automated navigation on the Spree-Oder waterway (SOW)
The kick-off event on 25th of March 2025 in the port of Königs Wusterhausen marked the official launch of the DigitalSOW2 innovation
project. The project partners Alberding GmbH from Wildau, the Department of Design and Operation of Maritime Systems at the Technical
University of Berlin and the Institute of Automation Technology at the University of Rostock are carrying out the project as part of
the third funding guideline for the development of digital test fields on federal waterways (DTW III). The project builds on the
developments of the predecessor projects DigitalSOW (DTW I) and SensorSOW (DTW II) and runs from 1st of January 2025 to 31st of
December 2027.
Like its predecessor projects, DigitalSOW2 also aims to further advance the automation of waterway transport.
Specifically, DigitalSOW2 involves, among other things, the further development of a digital assistance system and V2X communication
between the test vessel and landside infrastructure. Simulations are being developed to assess the technical and economic use of the
test vessel ‘Boris Kluge’ in multimodal transport processes on the Spree-Oder waterway. Furthermore, a ship recognition system
independent of neural networks (AI) is being developed in order to avoid problems with objects not included in the training data.
DigitalSOW2 is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV). The project aims to utilise unused capacities of
the main and secondary waterways for supply and disposal transport in the Berlin metropolitan region. The use of small, highly automated
and, in the future, autonomous shipping units is intended to relieve road freight traffic and reduce congestion and emissions.
The results of DigitalSOW2 are expected in December 2027.
Further information can be found at: www.digitalsow.de