China wants to establish itself as a leader in robot warships. They have announced plans to open the world’s largest facility for unmanned ship research just north of Macau. The Wanshan Marine Test Site will cover 225 square nautical miles of water and islands and will be equipped with satellite navigation, electro optical sites, sonar, and datalinks, according to Popular Science. China is planning on using the site to test technologies like autonomous steering and obstacle avoidance. Plus, Wanshan will be vital in helping develop the standards and certifications for unmanned technologies. The site is going to partner with the Zhuhai municipal government, China Classification Society (CCS) and the Wuhan University of Technology. The University is already on the cutting-edge of Chinese naval research, and has studied things like electromagnetic technologies and aircraft carriers. The work at Wanshan has the potential to give China a great say in setting standards for 21st-century infrastructure and AI uses, Popular Science writes, since unmanned ships appear to be the way of the future. They also have a range of applications for logistics and combat on the military side.
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