Workshop Details
DIMACS/CCICADA Workshop on AI and the Maritime Domain
- Start Date: September 26, 2026
- End Date: September 27, 2026
- Event Start Time: 10:00 AM
- Event End Time: 5:00 PM
- Organizers: Fred Roberts (chair) | Elsayed Elsayed (co-chair) | Erez Agmoni | Alok Baveja | Kostas Bekris | Aman Goswami | Andrew Tucci
- Event Location: Chauncey Hotel and Conference Center | One Chauncey Road | Princeton, NJ 08541
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DIMACS/CCICADA Workshop on AI and the Maritime Domain
The DIMACS and CCICADA Centers at Rutgers University, with funding from the National Science Foundation, held a workshop on AI-powered Automaton at Ports from March 30 to April 1, 2026. At that workshop, participants, including from some of the world’s most advanced ports, examined the opportunities and potential risks associated with the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance the process of automation and its applications to port logistics, supply chains, and increasingly many aspects of port operations.
This follow-up workshop will be held Saturday and Sunday September 26 and 27 at the Chauncey Conference Center in Princeton, NJ. The workshop will (a) explore the results and recommendations from the first workshop (b) expand the discussion to AI and maritime more generally. Among the topics we are considering discussing are the following.
- Autonomous vessels in the open water, in the approach/departure from ports, at oil rigs and other offshore facilities, at cruise ship terminals, on ferries
- Supply chains: how can AI help in the entire supply chain (not just at ports), e.g., missing raw materials?
- AI and Labor: skills needed to work with AI, retraining (both for the entire marine transportation system); how does AI contribute to better health and safety of workers?
- Risks of using AI in different components of the marine transportation system
- Robotics at different stages of the supply chain
The goal is to broaden the recommendations resulting from our first workshop and identify ways to keep the dialogue going.
This workshop is presented with support from the National Science Foundation under grant number 2539689. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the participant(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Friday, September 25, 2026
Workshop Talks
6:15 PM – 7:15 PMDinner (Meeting of Organizing Committee + Those Who Had to Fly in the Night Before the Workshop)
8:00 PM – 10:00 PMCash-Bar. Informal Discussion (Meeting of Organizing Committee + Those Who Had to Fly in the Night Before the Workshop)
Other Information:
Topics:
- The Conclusions/Recommendations document (which should have been completed in advance and circulated in advance)
- Overview of topics of the workshop itself
- Discussion of next steps post-workshop
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Workshop Talks
7:45 AM – 9:00 AMBreakfast
9:00 AM – 10:00 AMBreak stations open
10:00 AM – 10:30 AMOpening remarks and introductions
Fred Roberts
10:30 AM – 11:30 AMRecommendations and Conclusions from the March-April Workshop
Fred Roberts
11:30 AM – 12:15 AMAutonomous vessels
Drew Tucci
Other Information:
10-minute presentation by Drew Tucci, then discussion.
(Topics such as: on the sea, entering or leaving a port, at the port, cruise ships and need to maneuver in crowded spaces, ferries, offshore (e.g., dynamic positioning systems for oil rigs), UAS to check under hulls and underwater pipelines and underwater storage tanks)
12:15 PM – 1:15 PMLunch
1:15 PM – 2:00 PMSupply chains
Erez Agmoni
Other Information:
10-minute presentation by Erez Agmoni, then discussion.
(Topics such as how can AI help in the entire supply chain (not just at ports), e.g., missing raw materials; role of robotics in the entire supply chain)
2:00 PM – 2:45 PMAI and Labor
Dennis Egan
Other Information:
10-minute presentation by Dennis Egan, then discussion.
(Topics such as skills needed to work with AI, retraining - at ports and on vessels, how does AI contribute to better health and safety of workers, return to Recommendations/Conclusions document, which went into this topic in great detail)
2:45 PM – 3:15 PMBreak stations open
3:15 PM – 4:00 PMNew and continuing risks
Elsayed Elsayed and Drew Tucci
Other Information:
10-minute presentation by Elsayed Elsayed, 5-minute presentation by Drew Tucci (on new CG cyber regulations), then discussion.
(Topics include GPS vulnerability, power failure, cyber; how to measure resilience …)
4:00 PM – 5:00 PMBreakout Groups: Conclusions/Recommendations
Other Information:
Two groups of 6 people
(Topics: Earlier Conclusions/Recommendations document and changes needed, additional Conclusions/Recommendations based on new topics.)
Suggested Facilitators: Terry Clower and Erez Agmoni
5:00 PM – 5:15 PMPlenary with Breakout Groups Presenting
6:15 PM – 7:15 PMDinner
8:00 PM – 10:00 PMInformal discussion (cash-bar): Further Discussion of Conclusions/Recommendations
Sunday, September 27, 2026
Workshop Talks
7:30 AM – 8:30 AMBreakfast
8:45 PM – 9:15 AMNext Steps for Us
Fred Roberts
Other Information:
(Topics to include the AI book, funding, collaborations, new people to involve, follow-up with USCG and other agencies where people still couldn’t attend)
9:15 AM – 10:15 AMBreakout Groups: Next Steps for Us
Other Information:
Two groups of 6 people
Suggested Facilitators: Drew Tucci and Dennis Egan
10:15 AM – 10:45 AMBreak stations open
10:45 AM – 11:05 AMPlenary with Breakout Groups Presenting
11:05 AM – 11:45 AMResearch Agenda
Terry Clower
Other Information:
(Topics: build Recommendations for Research in the Conclusions/Recommendations document)
11:45 AM – 11:50 AMClosing Comments
11:50 AM – 12:30 PMLunch
12:30 PM – 2:30 PMOrganizing Committee meets to discuss next steps
- Map for Event
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This workshop is by invitation only.