Ontology based approach in solving collision situations at sea

Abstract

The article presents an innovative approach to the implementation of semi-automatic communication in solving collision situations at sea based on navigational and communication ontology. Data used in this process are obtained from navigational systems and equipment, including AIS, ARPA and ECDIS. The problem of communication processes management has been analysed. Based on this, navigational and communication ontology has been developed and presented. The construction of ontology takes into account, inter alia, IMO's Standard Marine Communication Phrases. The developed ontology allows the implementation of communication processes as the concatenation of sequences of words corresponding to utterances used by humans. The use of the said ontology in the process of semi-automatic communication may contribute to the reduction of errors in communication and facilitate communication to those with poor English skills. The developed ontology was used to support solving collision situations at sea. Examples of its use in real and simulated cases are presented. The authors made use of official reports of marine accident investigation boards and own scenarios simulating typical situations of ship encounters. The results of research will be used to create an automatic communication system for manned and autonomous ships.