The forthcoming Autonomous Inland & Short Sea Shipping Conference (AISS) will be held on 24 and 25 March 2026 for the first time as part of XPONENTIAL Europe at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. The organisers, the Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems (Entwicklungszentrum für Schiffstechnik und Transportsysteme e.V. - DST) as well as Duisburg-Essen University (UDE) and the Rhenish-Westphalian Technical University (RWTH) Aachen, look just as much forward to the future cooperation as does Messe Düsseldorf. The Conference promotes technical and scientific exchange between industry, business, and authorities in the fields of autonomous inland and short sea shipping as well as smart port and water-borne logistics.
The integration of AISS into XPONENTIAL Europe underscores how the trade fair focus on autonomous maritime systems is strategically developed further as a link in a connected, multi-modal transport system. Uncrewed surface vessels (USV) and autonomous underwater vessels (AUV) are gaining increasing importance in both civilian and security-critical applications such as environmental monitoring, offshore maintenance, water surveying, defence, and port logistics. Likewise, the connection with air and land drones for real-time data integration is becoming increasingly pivotal.
The Conference programme centres on lectures on AI, LiDAR and radar-based vessel tracking, automated route planning, collision avoidance, low-emission steering as well as modular platform architectures for hybrid or electric-only propulsion. As an international research institute DST will focus on autonomous systems for inland and short-sea shipping, on remote control and assistance systems as well as on innovative solutions for interacting with UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) and ground robotics at the coming AISS.
New topics such as submarine detection systems, digital twins for maritime fleets, on-board edge computing, and 5G-supported response systems in ports complement the lecture agenda of the XPONENTIAL Europe Conference – stressing the growing relevance of maritime robotics and the IoT in security-critical, commercial, and climate-related applications.
The Conference will be held on Tuesday, 24 March 2026, from 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm, and on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, from 10.30 am to 4.30 pm in the conference facilities of Hall 1 at Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. Concurrently the DST and UDE will be represented with their exhibition stands in Hall 1 at XPONENTIAL Europe.
Visitors will also be in for a special highlight on the stage of the Innovation Theater in Hall 1: the all-electric research catamaran NOVA will demonstrate its automated navigation skills on the Rhine River – the demo transmitted live to the stage will make latest research and applied ship technology directly experienceable.
