Navigating a Greener Tomorrow
A Sustainable Navigation Design Challenge for Inland Waterways
Sustainable Inland Waterways Design Challenge
"Industry 5.0 meets the waters"
Navigating inland waters—such as lakes, rivers, and canals—differs fundamentally from open-sea navigation due to the extreme spatial constraints and complex, multi-user dynamics of enclosed ecosystems.
Unlike the open ocean where vessels contend with vast horizons and deep-sea currents, inland environments are characterized by narrow channels, shallow drafts, tight turning radiuses, and unpredictable river flows or locks, in addition to the occasional storm that affects lakes as much as the sea.
The congestion on water bodies like Lake Como is uniquely dense, and heterogeneous working vessels, high-speed public transport, and heavy tourist traffic are forced to share the same limited surface area, while also respecting the life of the local residents, the rich cultural heritage of the site, and its biodiversity.
Design, through its original systems thinking methodologies—combining research, attentive fieldwork, both hard and soft sciences, and trial-and-error prototyping—has the potential to address the complexities of socio-ecological interdependencies and find novel interventions for the challenges of navigation and life with the lake
Industry 5.0 is a forward-looking vision for European industry that goes beyond efficiency and productivity as sole objectives. It redefines the role of industry as a driver of both economic and societal progress, while leading the green and digital transitions.
Building on the foundations of ‘Industry 4.0’, this concept places research and innovation at the service of three core priorities:
Human-centricity – placing the wellbeing, skills, and empowerment of workers at the centre of production systems
Sustainability – enabling circular use of resources and adopting technologies that respect planetary boundaries
Resilience – strengthening the capacity of industry to withstand and adapt to global disruptions
In this model, industry is not only a generator of growth, but also a key contributor to societal progress and environmental responsibility.
Our challenge embraces this approach, Navigation 5.0 is where industry 5.0 meets the waters.
