Conference 24–25 March 2026
The next Autonomous Inland & Short Sea Shipping Conference will take place in March 2026 in Düsseldorf in conjunction with XPONENTIAL EUROPE.
The Autonomous Inland and Short Sea Shipping Conference was established in 2019 as an annual conference. The conference promotes technical and scientific exchange among industry, academia and authorities in the fields of autonomous inland and short sea shipping as well as port logistics, smart waterborne logistics and related subjects. Contributions related to ship automation, remote operation and assistance systems, model-building, simulators and digital twins, smart port logistics, traffic planning and simulation, transport chain digitalization, emission reduction by assistance systems and automation, research platforms, test fields and infrastructure etc. are very welcome.
More information about the AISS at the XPONENTIAL Europe: LINK
The call for papers is now open until October 15, 2025 at: LINK
(Please note: the deadline stated here applies even if a different date is given on the XPONENTIAL Europe website)
The notification of accepted proposals will be sent on October 31, 2025.
To submit your abstract, select the presentation topic “8th AISS – AUTONOMOUS INLAND & SHORT SEA SHIPPING CONFERENCE” under “Submit an abstract.”
Programme
Day 1: 24.03.2026:
09:30 – 10:30: Keynotes XPONENTIAL Europe (optional)
10:30 – 12:30: Trade fair tour of maritime systems (optional)
13:00 – 16:30: Conference AISS
17:00 – 18:00: Networking European Drone Forum Get-Together
18:30 – 23:00: Conference dinner (restaurant tbd)
Day 2: 25.03.2026:
09:30 – 10:30: Keynotes XPONENTIAL Europe
11:00 – 16:30: Conference AISS
18:00 – open end: Networking at trade fair party XPONENTIAL Europe
Special Higlights:
Automated demonstration rides on the Rhine with NOVA
Location: Messe Düsseldorf jetty
March 24, 2026: Directly after the keynote until 12:30 – VIP guests & press
March 26, 2026: Full-day rides available – up to 9 guests per trip
- Live broadcast of the ride into the exhibition area
- Drone flight with real-time footage
- Accompanying presentation with insights on the demonstration
Registration
Registration for the conference will be available from 15 December 2025 via the official website: https://www.xponential-europe.com/en/Visitors/Preparation/Tickets_Registration
The price for AISS members is 299 €, including:
- AISS conference ticket
- Trade fair ticket
- XPONENTIAL Europe conference access
- Conference dinner
- Meals during the conference (including lunch on Day 2: 25 March 2026)
- Trade fair party XPONENTIAL Europe
Please note: To benefit from this special rate, an AISS Special Voucher is required. If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please register via the following link to our newsletter: LINK. The codes will then be sent out in mid-December.
Full paper publication (optional)
We are glad to announce a special issue of the Ship Technology Research journal for publication of full scientific papers related to the conference topics. Publication of a full paper is optional and each submission will be subjected to a scientific review process. Please find further information on the full paper publication below:
“Call for Papers” website: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ystr20
Submission portal: https://www.editorialmanager.com/ship
Submission deadline: 30th April 2026
Submissions are very welcome but not limited to previous AISS presentation. Thus, other contributions matching the field of the call may be submitted as well. The special issue will be published online. To submit a full paper, please log on into the editorial manager via (link above) as author and select “Special Issue” during the submission process.
Conference Venue
Messe Düsseldorf
Stockumer Kirchstraße 61, 40474 Düsseldorf
Accomodation
The conference venue is located directly at Messe Düsseldorf, which is only about 5 km away from Düsseldorf Airport (DUS). A wide range of hotels can be found in the surrounding area. Please choose your accommodation according to your own preferences. No special rates have been arranged by the organizers.
Here is a selection of hotels located close to the venue. In addition, several apartments are available in the immediate vicinity of Messe Düsseldorf. The venue is also well connected by public transport (U-Bahn), making accommodation in Düsseldorf city center a convenient option as well.
Some nearby hotels include:
- Tulip Inn Hotel Düsseldorf Arena
- Airport Fashion Hotel
- Hotel Aleksandra
- Hotel Ashley’s Garden
- Hilton Düsseldorf
Organizing committee
The conference is organized by University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Development Centre for Ship Technology and Transport Systems e.V. (DST) and RWTH Aachen. Support is provided by the Chambers of Commerce in the Ruhr Region.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bettar el Moctar (DST/UDE)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Dieter Schramm (UDE)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Heike Vallery (RWTH)
Dr.-Ing. Rupert Henn (DST)
Dr.-Ing. Frédéric Kracht (DST)
Dr.-Ing. Jens Neugebauer (UDE)
Cyril Alias M.Sc. (DST)
Christopher Schulte M.Sc. (RWTH Aachen)
Contact
Please use conference email kracht@dst-org.de if you wish to get in contact with the organizers.
In case of urgent matters, please contact us by phone: +49 203 99369-51