A team of ocean engineering students from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has won the 2026 Njord Challenge, an international competition in Norway that tests autonomous surface vessels under real-world maritime conditions.
Representing Team Aritra, students Aarav Patel, S. Gurukesav and Madhava Sai led the development and deployment of an autonomous surface vessel for the competition. Autonomous surface vessels are uncrewed boats or ships capable of operating without personnel onboard, with potential applications in maritime surveillance, oceanographic data collection and other marine operations.
Organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and held in Trondheim, Norway, the Njord Challenge brought together 23 teams from nine countries this year, including India, Türkiye, Norway, Poland, Canada, Japan, Spain, Croatia and Scotland. Participants were required to develop and deploy autonomous vessels capable of performing tasks in realistic maritime environments.
Team Aritra was mentored by IIT Madras’s Marine Autonomous Vessels (MAV) Laboratory, along with faculty members Abhilash Sharma Somayajula, M.A. Atmanand and Prabhakaran Jay.
The latest achievement builds on Team Aritra’s earlier success at the competition. A previous cohort of IIT Madras students finished third globally and won the Sustainability Award in 2023.
Commenting on the achievement, Abhilash Sharma Somayajula, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering, IIT Madras and mentor to the team, said the Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory aims to contribute to building the capabilities India will need as marine autonomy becomes increasingly important.
He added that initiatives such as Team Aritra can encourage more students to explore marine robotics and pursue innovative solutions to complex maritime challenges.