A three-member team from IIT Madras’ Department of Ocean Engineering has won the 2026 Njord Challenge in Trondheim, Norway, beating 22 teams representing nine countries. Team Aritra secured 90.42 points in the competition, which tests autonomous surface vessels on navigation, manoeuvring and problem-solving tasks.
The challenge, organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, required student teams to build and operate boats capable of navigating with limited human intervention. The vessels used cameras, navigation equipment and onboard computing systems to identify their surroundings, plan routes and complete tasks such as docking, obstacle avoidance and pathfinding. A surprise challenge was also included to test how teams responded to unfamiliar situations.
Team Aritra achieved full marks in route-finding and boat-control tasks following months of testing at IIT Madras’ water-testing facility and campus lake. The team comprised Aarav Patel, S Gurukesav and Madhava Sai, with mentoring from Dr Abhilash Sharma Somayajula and Professor M A Atmanand and support from the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory.
During the competition, the students dealt with magnetic interference affecting navigation equipment and interference between the camera and GPS systems. They modified the system to maintain reliable navigation.
Autonomous vessels could eventually support applications including port monitoring, coastal surveys, marine data collection and ocean observation. IIT Madras had previously finished third in the Njord Challenge in 2023 and received its Sustainability Award.
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