Unmanned Vessel Research Articles

Using telematics data to support effective solutions for tracking and monitoring the power system condition of unmanned vessels

The paper studies the prospects of using telematics data to support effective solutions for tracking and monitoring the condition of the power supply system (PSS) components of unmanned vessels (UV) through the determination of positioning and, accordingly, operating time of PSS components. The paper attempts to describe one of the modules of the proposed integrated telematics system for UV monitoring, diagnostics and control. For practical implementation of telematics for unmanned merchant vessels, an algorithm has been developed to diagnose the technical condition of PSS components based on the operating time and condition of the units and components of the UV PSS. The results obtained by the algorithm show the technical condition of the observed technical equipment, time of its operation, and justify the need for repair or its complete replacement. The block diagram presents the algorithm that employs a minimal set of data to determine the use of technical equipment for further planning of its preventive maintenance. The paper provides the graphical interpretation of data on the time of PSS components operation and an example of displaying the interface of the remote operator of the UV. It is proposed to use telematics for tracking and monitoring the UV PSS operation in order to improve the quality of equipment maintenance, provide rational use of resources, extend its service life, and plan the repair time. In the future, it is proposed to create an integrated intelligent system based on telematics data, which allows the UV control and monitoring of the technical condition of its equipment.

Application of the expert assessment method in developing a navigation safety system for unmanned vessels

The development of a navigation safety system for unmanned vessels, including port tugs, requires the expert assessment method. This method is applicable when working with risk assessment because there is no reliable statistical data on unmanned shipping. Most companies operating ships have navigation safety systems or safety management systems (SMS), with the exception of shipping companies operating a small tonnage fleet (up to 500 r.t.). These companies have a set of instructions, similar to the SMS. The navigation safety system covers almost all areas of production activities of both the ship and shore segments of the company. The SMS of a shipping company operating the unmanned vessel will require serious refinements compared to the traditional SMS. The development of SMS elements may require the involvement of boatmasters and ship mechanics who know the work of port tugs, as well as researchers who conduct research in the field of unmanned navigation. It is difficult to process the results obtained by experts who combine scientific and practical points; it is necessary therefore to select experts taking into account peculiarities of the SMS and production activities of non-crew port tugs. Thus, one of the main tasks is to combine all the existing opinions and assessments in order to avoid possible inaccuracies, as well as to take into account peculiarities of unmanned port tug operation, depending on production tasks. The term ‘unmanned vessel’ refers to vessels that are operated using unmanned technologies. This article discusses issues of selection of experts that will work with the risk assessment method in the development of a safety system for navigation of unmanned port tugs.

Neurocontrol methods in the context of development of technical solutions for transition to unmanned navigation

The paper considers the features and prospects of using neurocontrol methods in the context of development of technical solutions for transition to unmanned merchant vessels. The paper suggests a non-iterative training based artificial neural network (ANN), which is based on the principles of “direct inverse control” to control the speed and motion of unmanned surface vessels. The model is identified, and the structure of an artificial neural network and the diagram of the automatic control system (ACS) of an unmanned vessel (UV) are considered on the example of an electric propulsion vessel. A series of computational experiments is carried out to obtain a sufficiently complete training sample. and the control law is presented. The principle of the control system for an unmanned vessel is considered based on a neural network. At the next stage of the study, focus is on the synthesis of the optimal control system for UV navigation. The problem of the fastest motion of a third-order control object from one point (with any initial speed) to another (at the end point the vessel stops and the speed is zero) is considered. Based on the results of a series of experiments with the UV model, the controller parameters that provide the best indicators of control quality were set in the MATLAB Simulink environment.

A method for constructing a small-sized unmanned vessel and its automatic wiring

In the article, the author proposes a method for constructing a small-sized unmanned vessel with a communication system with its operator, receiving data on control actions for the purpose of navigating the vessel in automatic and manual modes along a given trajectory, transmitting the necessary kinematic and navigation data for identifying mathematical models of the movement of sea-surface vessels, setting up the automatic steering in real time, as well as entering proofreading into sensor readings via the data transmission protocol via TCP-IP stack on public Wi-Fi radio frequencies. The method of constructing a small-sized unmanned vessel and its automatic wiring allows us to work out the principles of creating full-scale, fully functional unmanned cargo, passenger and military vessels. It allows you to work out the principles of creating automatic control systems for a given trajectory for fully functional crewed and unmanned vessels for various purposes. This method can be used to study the principles of construction and identification of mathematical models of vessel movement. The method proposed in the article was implemented at the competition “Talent and Success” of the “Sirius” educational center, where it successfully won the championship in the category “Marine Intelligence”.

Navigation system for unmanned vessels using a navigation buoy

Nowadays the floating aids to navigation are being actively developed for remote control of the buoy location. The modern technical level allows building a buoy with the functions of monitoring the environment and transmitting the received information to coastal services. This task is becoming more urgent in connection with the development of unmanned vessels. The paper considers the results of field tests of an operating navigation buoy with special navigation equipment. The buoy is designed for information support during field tests of unmanned vessels and water transport facilities in the test water area in the Volga-Baltic basin of the inland waterways of the Russia Federation. Full-scale tests of special navigation equipment were carried out in accordance with the developed program and test procedure. The tests included the validation of the receipt of data from special navigation equipment to an external server via LTE mobile networks, assessment of the accuracy of positioning by means of navigation equipment, assessment of the percentage of data loss during transmission and validation of data visualization on an interactive map displayed in an Internet browser.

Automated system for diagnosing the structural failures of the unmanned vessel

The studies show that individual elements of a vessel component that are subjected to variable-repeated loads may be destroyed even at lower voltages than any other calculated component (unit). This problem is particularly important for the dynamically developing direction of unmanned navigation, which operation may be carried out with a reduced crew, in its absence – both remotely and autonomously. Conditions of cyclic variable loads in corrosive media also play an important role with a total number of operation cycles, which may reach many millions over the entire operation period. It should be noted that the statistics show that about 80% of accidents in maritime transport are caused by fatigue effects. This paper is devoted to the development of software that is able to predict fatigue failure of units and structures. The paper also descriunmanned vessel the application within an unmanned vessel, as well as the use of described mathematical algorithm in a device with the possibility of projection of augmented reality on vessel units for further prediction. The described method of predicting the strength and simplifying the service is relevant when remote security controls are required.

A diagnostic system of an intelligent component based on Bayesian accurate inference networks

The article discusses the features of building an intelligent diagnostic system for technical systems based on Bayesian networks, which are a new method of probabilistic-statistical modeling based on a combination of graph theory, probability theory and methods of applied statistics. An example of a Bayesian network structure for diagnosing and predicting an accident in unmanned vessels is presented. Special attention is paid to the stages of building a Bayesian network for diagnosing technical systems using statistical data. Particular emphasis is placed on solving the problem of forming the Bayesian network output under conditions of decreasing uncertainty when new information arrives within the Bayesian network. The features of constructing an accurate probabilistic inference using the clustering algorithm are also considered. A number of experiments were carried out to compare the computational complexity of the clustering algorithm, which was used in the process of constructing the exact probabilistic inference in the Bayesian network, and the stochastic sampling algorithm to obtain an approximation. To simulate the structure of an intelligent system for technical diagnostics, it is proposed to divide the Bayesian network into subnets, the graphs of which will have a relatively small number of vertices. As an example, the following classes of diagnostic parameters of a technical system are proposed, for each of which it is further recommended to build a Bayesian network: probability of system uptime, system failure rate, average system (element) operation time to failure, average service life, gamma-percentage resource, average shelf life, etc.

Interface for indication and remote control of an unmanned vessel in automatic and manual modes

The article proposes a method for organizing the communication interface of an unmanned vessel and its operator. The interface contains manual controls for the course and speed of the vessel by regulating the angle of the rudder blade shift and the speed of rotation of the propeller shaft, an automatic system for keeping the vessel on a given trajectory for the purpose of navigating the vessel in automatic and manual modes. The interface comprises a system for obtaining filtration, storing the required kinematic and navigation data for identifying mathematical models of the vessel’s movement and the functioning of the autopilot. The interface allows adjusting the PID controller for automatic guidance of the vessel along the trajectory in real time to optimize automatic control, to correct the readings of the GPS and the Earth’s magnetic field sensors, to calibrate the Earth’s magnetic field sensor. The interface includes graphic and digital fields for displaying kinematic and navigation data on the vessel, autopilot and information on the operation of the operator-vessel complex. The interface allows the exchange of data between the operator and the vessel by means of a data transfer protocol via TCP-IP stack protocols on the radio frequencies of public Wi-Fi networks. The interface is created by means of appdesigner tools on the MATLAB platform.

The main characteristics estimation of cryptographic protection in fault-tolerant marine data transmission systems

The article discusses as the stages of implementation of technological and technical solutions (technology of two control points (T2OT) and technology «TOTEM»- calculation of an integrated indicator of the influence of weather factors on the vessel), which formed the basis for the development of the concept of unmanned navigation. The studies of unmanned vessel traffic control are described: studies on planning the trajectory of a vessel, research on methods of intelligent and / or online support for collision avoidance, creation of a data transmission channel and research on traffic control methods. The architecture of the information model of the digital tool platform for the pilotage and mooring process is presented. It is proposed to use a group of specialized azimuthal automatic tugboats (ABA) with the use of multi-agent control systems using the “flock” method for remote piloting. Models and algorithms for cryptographic protection in fault-tolerant marine data transmission systems are proposed Based on the analysis of the requirements for fault-tolerant marine data transmission systems, the article suggests the direction of designing their cryptographic protection – a cipher of the “one-time pad” type as absolutely secure in a one-time mode. Its implementation can be carried out on the basis of a modified Hill cipher with the size of the key matrix that adaptively changes with the size of the transmitted message. The key matrix is formed as the Kronecker product (KP) of elementary involutive matrices, which significantly increases the efficiency of the cipher by eliminating the preliminary separate calculation of the CP, its inversion and the absence of the need to store it in memory.

Method for synthesis of an intelligent automatic system for diagnosing combustion engine vibration of the power supply system of an unmanned vessel

The paper considers the implementation prospects and features of the synthesis of an intelligent automatic system for diagnosing the internal combustion engine vibration of a power supply system in terms of developing technologies for automatic or remote control of unmanned vessels. The paper addresses the issue of predicting the technical condition of a combustion engine using available diagnostic methods. The study focuses on the equipment required for monitoring and analyzing the technical condition of the engine of an unmanned vessel when operating in automatic or remotely controlled mode. An algorithm has been developed for collecting, storing and accumulating data on the condition of the engine components and units in the on-board information system of the vessel to exchange data on the condition of the engine and its components during remote monitoring and to determine fault codes. The approaches to the synthesis of an intelligent automatic system for diagnosing the combustion engine vibration are considered from a methodological point of view. Vibration diagnostics equipment used for the analysis of the technical condition of the engine is proposed. Some results of the classification of the technical condition of the engine are presented. The expediency of introducing and using hybrid intelligent systems based on artificial neural networks is exemplified by diagnostics of the MITSUBISHI S16R engine.

The method for automatic control of a ship with directional instability

A method for creating an automatic control system for a ship with directional instability has been developed. As part of the tests of a small-sized unmanned vessel, a control diagram was built. It showed that the vessel is unstable along its route. It became necessary to add a control channel for the angular acceleration of the vessel to the main channels of the PID regulator. The PID-U regulator has a significant advantage in controlling an unstable vessel on the route over a standard PID regulator due to the channel of angular acceleration; the regulator monitors the angular speed and compensates it with control actions. The disadvantage of the method is difficulties in finding the angular acceleration of the vessel, since, gyroscopic sensors installed on vessels provide data only on the route and angular speed. Simple integration of the angular speed to determine the acceleration can result in errors, especially in wind-wave conditions. The mathematical observer based on the Kalman filter can be used. The results of operation modeling forthis regulator are described.

Autonomous shipping. The future of the maritime industry?

The main goal of the article is to present the problems of the development of autonomous ships and to characterize the most important challenges. The article provides a description of autonomous ships and studies the existing relevant projects. It presents a spectrum of applications and possibilities of unmanned ships in the field of security. Currently, high hopes are placed on the functioning of unmanned ships. They are not only to be more economical but also to contribute to environmental protection. Developing a technology that allows the construction of ships and their safe operation is not the only task faced by enthusiasts of unmanned vessels. It is also important to develop and implement proper regulatory framework that will allow the legal operation of such ships.

An Engineering Design Approach for the Development of an Autonomous Sailboat to Cross the Atlantic Ocean

Over the past decade, interest in autonomous vessels significantly increased as the technology improved, especially in the automotive industry. Unlike cars, ships travel in a wild environment and maritime lanes are not limited by white lines. This makes the design of fully autonomous vessels even more challenging. Additionally, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions led to a renewed interest in wind propulsion. Sailboats have several advantages, such as full energy autonomy and a limited environmental impact. The Microtransat Challenge, which consists of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, is a tremendous test field. This paper describes, within that frame, a design procedure for the development of a robust fully autonomous sailboat to be deployed for long-term missions. In this paper, the mechanical and electronic design strategies are presented. A focus is on reliability and power management. Moreover, a test procedure for validating each design increment is described as well as a path plan that considers the risk of collision and weather routing with wind and currents. The Microtransat remains a challenge that no autonomous ship has ever succeeded (and has been completed by a single unmanned vessel, SB Met in 2018). However, the results by Breizh Tigresse and Sealeon in 2015 and 2018 made a step forward in terms of time and distance. They are presented and analyzed in this work.

Проблемы внедрения безэкипажных судов на основе статистических исследований аварийных ситуаций и потерь судов

В статье проведено статистическое исследование, посвященное анализу аварийных ситуаций с судами мирового флота валовой вместимостью более 100 брутто-регистровых тонн на море на основе ряда информационных источников, таких как отчеты регистра Ллойда и статистика страхового общества Ллойда, национальных статистических данных, статистики международных морских организаций, статистики природоохранных организаций и прочих источников. Были рассмотрены: распределение аварий по годам, отражены причины потери судов, отдельно выделена статистика по аварийности в полярных широтах. Полученные результаты показывают, что если безэкипажные суда будут введены в эксплуатацию в соответствии с уровнем автономности 5 (с развитием технологий искусственного интеллекта), мы сможем ожидать меньшего количества типичных морских аварий, связанных с «человеческим фактором», однако, нет никаких предпосылок ожидать, что последствия потенциальной аварии будут ниже наблюдаемых. В настоящее время оценка безопасности не учитывает такие немаловажные факторы, которые не возникали в судоходной отрасли в прошлом - такие как киберпиратство или кибертерроризм. А он может быть источником более разрушительных последствий, которые существенно повлияют на безопасность мореплавания автономных судов и восприятие их общественностью. Опираясь на результаты анализа статистических данных, и оперируя к научным изысканиям в этой области, перспектива замены грузовых судов торгового флота с экипажами на борту на полностью автономные суда достаточно проблематична на данном этапе технологий, но с каждым годом научные изыскания развивают эту отрасль, стараясь учитывать все недостатки и возможные риски. The article presents a statistical study devoted to the analysis of emergencies with ships of the world fleet with a gross tonnage of more than 100 gross register tons at sea based on a number of information sources, such as Lloyd's Register reports and Lloyd's Insurance Society statistics, national statistics, statistics of international maritime organizations, statistics of environmental organizations and other sources. The following were considered: the distribution of accidents by year, the reasons for the loss of ships were reflected, statistics on accidents in polar latitudes were separately highlighted. The results obtained show that if unmanned vessels are put into operation in accordance with autonomy level 5 (with the development of artificial intelligence technologies), we can expect fewer typical maritime accidents associated with the "human factor", however, there is no reason to expect that the consequences of a potential accident will be lower than those observed. Currently, the safety assessment does not take into account such important factors that did not arise in the shipping industry in the past, such as cyber piracy or cyber terrorism. And it can be a source of more devastating consequences that will significantly affect the safety of navigation of autonomous vessels and their public perception. Based on the results of the analysis of statistical data, and operating on scientific research in this area, the prospect of replacing cargo ships of the merchant fleet with crews on board with fully autonomous vessels is quite problematic at this stage of technology, but every year scientific research develops this industry, trying to take into account all disadvantages and possible risks.

Modern vision in the use of liquid cargo operation simulators

The cargo operation planning, the process of implementation is one of the most difficult tasks carried out on liquid cargo vessels. The chief officer’s task is to process a huge amount of information, accurately enter data into a special computer, consistently calculate the stages of the work, and finally the most important is to complete the task in the shortest period of time. In the implementation, less attention is paid to the economic use of cargo mechanisms, their wear, and fuel costs. Despite the recommendations and strategies for the effective management of cargo operations, modern artificial intelligence has not yet fully replaced the mankind. We offer a modern and effective way to solve problems, such as maritime universities and maritime training center simulator classes’ students will search the most effective ways of cargo operation. The collaboration among vessel, university and terminal would be distance in the internet cloud, which provides: the ships’ crew work schedule reduction, a wide choice of cargo operations plans, selection of the optimal option, energy-saving, only target use of mechanisms, which finally lead to less wear and tear, fuel economy and, consequently reduction of CO2 pollution in the atmosphere. It will also reduce cargo operation time, thus reducing port and terminal fees. More over this principle of operation will increase the number of qualified personnel in the future and will be used in the future for remote control liquid cargo operations on unmanned vessels of future.

Formation Control of Unmanned Vessels with Saturation Constraint and Extended State Observation

This paper addressed the formation control problem of surface unmanned vessels with model uncertainty, parameter perturbation, and unknown environmental disturbances. A formation control method based on the control force saturation constraint and the extended state observer (ESO) was proposed. Compared with the control methods which only consider the disturbances from external environment, the method proposed in this paper took model uncertainties, parameter perturbation, and external environment disturbances as the compound disturbances, and the ESO was used to estimate and compensate for the disturbances, which improved the anti-disturbance performance of the controller. The formation controller was designed with the virtual leader strategy, and backstepping technique was designed with saturation constraint (SC) function to avoid the lack of force of the actuator. The stability of the closed-loop system was analyzed with the Lyapunov method, and it was proved that the whole system is uniformly and ultimately bounded. The tracking error can converge to arbitrarily small by choosing reasonable controller parameters. The comparison and analysis of simulation experiments showed that the controller designed in this paper had strong anti-disturbance and anti-saturation performance to the compound disturbances of vessels and can effectively complete the formation control.

Autonomous shipping in Russia

The article examines the development of unmanned cargo ships and determines the significance of the introduction of autonomous logistics systems in such a mode of transport as sea cargo ships. The principle of operation of an unmanned cargo vessel (UMCV) is described, and Russian projects in the field of autonomous navigation are considered. The authors also highlight the advantages, disadvantages and prospects of using unmanned cargo ships in Russia.

Setting safety foundations in the Hyperloop: A first approach to preliminary hazard analysis and safety assurance system

The Hyperloop is a new mode of transport consisting on a pod travelling along a low-pressure tube that relies on greatly reduced friction to significantly decrease energy consumption and associated emissions. This mode is still in early stages of development. On the other hand, safety is a serious concern in any kind of transport system and must be addressed from the very beginning in order to avoid redesigns and delays in development, as well as increasing costs. Within this framework, this article aims to set up the premises to implement safety into the Hyperloop development process, from the beginning and as a foundational criterion. We use a refined SWIFT method to identify the main hazards in the Hyperloop operations. We also propose a first list of measures to eliminate, reduce and control hazards, as well as measures to reduce damage in case of hazardous incidents. These measures are based on existing knowledge related to safety in other more developed and operating modes of transport, specifically commercial aviation and railways, as well as in a more innovative one: unmanned vessels. The paper takes the main lessons found in these three transport modes and articulates a first approach to risk analysis and safety management for the Hyperloop.

Research on a course control strategy for unmanned surface vessel

With the development of intelligent control and modern communication technology, Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) will soon become another important unmanned platform after drones and unmanned vehicles. Unmanned vessel are easily disturbed by wind, waves and currents during navigation. Solving the problem of unmanned vessel’s course keeping control during navigation has become one of the key technologies in the research of unmanned vessel. Aiming at the course control problem of the unmanned vessel in the course of navigation, this paper firstly carried out mathematical modeling and data analysis on the dynamic model of the experimental unmanned vessel, carried out related design simulations and experiments through the constructed model, and propose an optimal control strategy based on PID controller. On this basis, the accuracy and effectiveness of the control strategy proposed in this paper are verified through a simulation platform, which can ensure the course stability of the unmanned vessel during the navigation process. Key technologies such as UAV obstacle avoidance and coordination provide a theoretical basis.

Floating Garbage Collector Based on OpenMV

Due to the high cost of human labor for maintenance, garbages in rivers often do not receive immediate cleaning, resulting in severe water pollution. Those floating garbages simultaneously strip the aesthetic of rivers and threaten the local marine ecosystem. Thence, we developed an unmanned vessel based on Arduino’s platform, capable of auto-collecting garbage. The vessel includes two modes: the human operational mode allows individuals to manipulate the vessel and to collect garbages through Bluetooth connection; the auto-collecting mode is based on OpenMV’s video processing function, enabling vessels to detect garbages nearby and transport the garbages into the vessel’s interior through a rotating caterpillar track. At the end of this project, the vessel remains large rooms for improvements, such as increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of garbage collection and garbage detection. The vessel is suitable in small size rivers or ponds were artificial cleaning faces obstacles.