Mercury sets course for self-driving boats

Mercury’s owner, Brunswick Corporation, announced overnight that Jason Arbuckle, who is credited with developing the brand’s autopilot, SkyHook, BowHook and DriftHook functions for boats using between two and six outboard engines, would take on a new role as the company's first marine technology automation lead.

He will head up skunkworks at Mercury that will work on highly autonomous – the boat helps the skipper – and automated – the boat drives itself – technology built around Mercury inboard and outboard engines.

“Automation and control technologies are rapidly emerging critical enablers for delivering innovation through smart-connected recreational marine products and experiences,” Brunswick chief executive Dave Foulkes said.

“Jason is a proven leader who will help us advance our capabilities, providing leadership to our emerging autonomy teams across the entire enterprise.”

One of his challenges will be to greatly simplify the way that Mercury’s Joystick Piloting technology works for future boats.

One of the problems Mercury currently faces is it needs to tune its Joystick Piloting system for each combination of boat and outboard engine, storing it in the system’s memory. 

However, Arbuckle’s new role could help Mercury create a new universal piloting system that teaches the boat how to control itself based on its length and beam.

Another system that Mercury appears to be working on is the ability to turn individual engines on or off depending on how much thrust a boat needs.

Arbuckle also has a patent for a docking system that will allow a boat to draw up and then hold beside a jetty, making the process much easier for inexperienced skippers.

Arbuckle said he was excited to take on the role to lead advancements in marine autonomy. 

“Brunswick has made advancements in vessel control over the last several years through assisted docking, joystick piloting, Skyhook and more, and I believe autonomous and driver assistance features are the next steps in enabling an easier boating experience,” he said.