CHENNAI: IIT Madras students have won the 2026 Njord Challenge in Norway, emerging champions in an international competition that tested autonomous surface vessels in real-world maritime conditions.
Team Aritra scored 90.42 points, finishing more than 10 points ahead of Türkiye’s MYS YAVUZ (79.90), while Poland’s AGH Solar Boat secured third place with 79.63 points.
Organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the August 10-14 competition in Trondheim featured 23 teams and 150 participants from nine countries, including India, Türkiye, Norway, Poland, Canada, Japan, Spain, Croatia and Scotland.
The teams were evaluated on autonomous docking, collision avoidance, manoeuvring and pathfinding, besides technical inspection, reporting and presentation. A surprise autonomy challenge tested their ability to adapt to unfamiliar conditions.
Team Aritra members Aarav Patel, S Gurukesav and Madhava Sai led the vessel’s development and deployment. Extensive trials at IIT-M’s wave basin and campus lake formed part of their preparations.
“The success of Team Aritra is a testament to what students can achieve when they are given the freedom to explore, experiment and build,” faculty adviser Abhilash Sharma Somayajula said.
The team also overcame strong magnetic interference that affected its inertial measurement unit and electromagnetic interference between the camera and GPS systems.
Director V Kamakoti congratulated the students and urged them to take their work forward for the country.