IIT Madras students win 2026 Njord Challenge in Norway with autonomous vessel

Students from the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) Madras have won the 2026 Njord Challenge, an international competition in Norway that tests autonomous surface vessels in real-world maritime conditions.

Team Aritra secured the overall championship with 90.42 points, finishing more than 10 points ahead of Turkiye’s MYS YAVUZ, which scored 79.90 points. AGH Solar Boat from Poland finished third with 79.63 points.

The competition was organised by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and was held in Trondheim, Norway, from August 10 to 14. The 2026 edition brought together 23 teams and 150 participants from nine countries, including India, Turkiye, Norway, Poland, Canada, Japan, Spain, Croatia and Scotland.

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Team Aritra tackles autonomous vessel challenges

The competition featured challenges including autonomous docking, collision avoidance, manoeuvring and pathfinding. Teams were also assessed on technical inspection, reporting and presentations. A surprise autonomy challenge was introduced to test the teams’ ability to adapt their systems to an unfamiliar situation.

Team Aritra comprised Aarav Patel, S. Gurukesav and Madhava Sai. The students developed and deployed an autonomous surface vessel for the competition.

Extensive testing at the wave basin in IIT Madras’ Department of Ocean Engineering and the institute’s campus lake helped the team prepare for the competition.

Team overcomes navigation challenges

During the competition, the team faced magnetic interference at the arena, which caused drift in the vessel’s Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The issue affected measurements used for autonomous navigation, requiring the students to diagnose and address the problem.

The team also faced electromagnetic interference between the camera and GPS systems. The students had to investigate the interaction between sensors and electronics across the vessel to maintain reliable navigation.

According to IIT Madras , these challenges highlighted the difficulties involved in deploying autonomous systems in real-world environments, where sensors can be affected by physical disturbances and unexpected hardware-software interactions.

IIT Madras director congratulates Team Aritra

IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti met Team Aritra and congratulated the students on their performance. He encouraged them to continue their work and ensure that their expertise contributes to the country.

Faculty advisor Abhilash Sharma Somayajula, Associate Professor, Department of Ocean Engineering , IIT Madras, said the team's achievement demonstrated what students can accomplish when they are given the opportunity to explore and experiment.

Somayajula said, “The success of Team Aritra is a testament to what students can achieve when they are given the freedom to explore, experiment and build.”

He added that the institute's Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory aims to build capabilities needed for marine autonomy while providing students with opportunities to work on real engineering problems.

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IIT Madras team’s earlier Njord Challenge success

The latest victory adds to IIT Madras’ earlier performance at the Njord Challenge. A different cohort of Team Aritra students finished third globally and won the Sustainability Award in 2023.

Autonomous surface vessels can be used for applications such as coastal and harbour surveillance, port and strategic infrastructure monitoring, environmental and oceanographic data collection, hydrographic surveys and other maritime operations.

Speaking about the win, Team Aritra member S. Gurukesav said the team had aimed for first place from the beginning.

“Winning first place was the goal from day one. Winning it by this margin is what makes it special,” Gurukesav said.

He said the team scored full points in the pathfinding and manoeuvring tasks after months of work on perception, controls and navigation systems for real-world conditions.

Team member Aarav Patel said the competition presented several challenges that helped the team improve.

“NJORD 26 had its share of highs and lows, but every challenge taught us something and pushed us forward,” Patel said.

The team was mentored by Abhilash Sharma Somayajula and M.A. Atmanand, with support from Prabhakaran Jay and senior members of IIT Madras’ Marine Autonomous Vessels Laboratory.