“In given navigation and marine environment, no two decisions taken by the watchkeeper will be the same. Ship navigation is a complex interpretation of various sensors, a watchkeeper executes the decision based on the understanding of the marine environment and his prior training. His job is therefore to ensure safe passage of a vessel, timely identification of a close-quarter situation and decide the correct course of action to avoid a collision”. – CEO, ANTS
The bridge of a ship is central to the ship’s operation. Every decision on ship safety, routine operations and navigational safety is carried out in the bridge. It is from this place that the Captain and the Watchkeeping Officer (OOW) run the ship.
The navigating officer plans the passage to ensure that the ship’s track is clear of any underwater danger, safe from other vessels operating in the vicinity, thoughtful about the limitations of onboard machinery, changing weather, en-route storms and is expected to be well read about the oceans in which the ship is operating by a detailed understanding of all the associated nautical almanacs which if neglected can have a significant impact on the safety of the ship, its crew and cargo.
Being aware of the fore knowledge, a mariner is therefore required to interpret and plot the ship’s position by referencing physical landmarks, GPS, radar, and echo sounder. Most ship have an ECDIS which help in monitoring the vessels position on realtime. AIS data and radar alert them to nearby vessel traffic, potential closequarter situation and help in mitigating collision if the watchkeeping officer has correctly interpreted the navigational situation. Radar also allows them to forecast weather, such as squalls, which could disrupt the voyage.
Crews are highly trained to perform this task manually on a continuous basis because vessels operate around the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but the job is dangerous. Human vision is flawed, and the majority of at-sea incidents are caused by distraction and fatigue.
Compared to the challenges in the maritime world, the automobile industry has grown manifold, especially in combining systems and interpreting data from multiple sources, such as GPS, LiDAR, ultrasonic systems, cameras, and radar, to provide the driver with immediately useful information, such as lane-departure warnings or automated behaviours, such as collision avoidance. Since the early 1980s, these sensor-fusion-based technologies have been tested and proven to help drivers make better and safer decisions on the road. These technologies now open up a range of options in the marine world with large scale implication on the future of navigation and shipping globally.
We can confidently say that the maritime industry is catching up to the innovations of the automotive world and are open to the ideas of automation in the shipping, a space to be watched out for very keenly.
ANTS is working on technology which can offer a new world of navigation where the fusion of marine sensors can provide the most optimum safety solution to ship navigation. It is doing that by developing a set of electronic senses that inform an electronic brain and allow the vessel to navigate safely and avoid collisions. The ANTS project in collaboration with leading AI Labs in UK is exploring three areas:
1. Sensor fusion technology is well developed and found in many forms of autonomous vehicle operation, most notably cars where competing developers have prioritised differing technologies. The ANTS project is exploring the contribution of different sensor technologies make in providing a vessel or its remote operators with an accurate perspective on the vessel’s surroundings at all times and in all conditions. Looking at different types of radars, high-definition visual cameras, thermal imaging and LIDAR the project has concluded fusing multiple sensor inputs provide the best results. The main question is not can this be done? It is how to combine these technologies in the most cost-efficient way considering the challenges of the maritime environment. Finding the optimum way to combine the different sensor technologies in a range of operating and climatic conditions will be the subject of a series of tests at sea.
2. Control algorithms Navigation and collision avoidance will be particularly important for remote and autonomous ships, allowing them to decide what action to take in light of sensory information received. The decision algorithms behind this need perfecting, as it requires an interpretation of maritime rules and regulations. This leads to interpretation challenges for the programmer. The development of control algorithms for autonomous vessels will be a gradual and iterative process and subject to extensive testing and simulation.
3. Communication and connectivity in vessels will still need human input from land, making connectivity between the ship and the crew crucial. Such communication will need to be bidirectional, accurate, scalable and supported by multiple systems – creating redundancy and minimising risk. Sufficient communication link capacity for ship sensor monitoring and remote control, when necessary, has to be guaranteed.
The project is exploring how to combine existing sensor fusion technologies in an optimum way for autonomous navigation. This will allow us to examine the behaviour of the complete navigation system.
Autonomous Navigation is the new future waiting to be embraced by the maritime industry as a whole. It only adds to the safety in addition to many other capabilities, then why delay!.
The change is inevitable. The question that you have to ask is: do you as a mariner would want to join the autonomous journey now or later?
