The Ocean-Going Autonomous Ship—Challenges and Threats

Abstract

Unmanned vehicles have become a part of everyday life, not only in the air, but also at sea. In the case of sea, until now this usually meant small platforms operating near shores, usually for surveying or research purposes. However, experiments with larger cargo vessels, designed to operate on the high seas are already being carried out. In this context, there are questions about the threats that this solution may pose for other sea users, as well as the safety of the unmanned vehicle itself and the cargo or equipment on board. The problems can be considered in the context of system reliability as well as the resilience to interference or other intentional actions directed against these objects—for example, of a criminal nature. The paper describes the dangers that arise from the specificity of systems that can be used to solve navigational problems, as well as the analysis of the first experiences of the authors arising from the transit of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) from the United Kingdom to Belgium and back, crossing the busiest world shipping route—the English Channel.

Regulatory Requirements on the Competence of Remote Operator in Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship: Situation Awareness, Ship Sense and Goal-Based Gap Analysis

“…Young professionals lack the skill to 'grasp relevant information from their environment' under uncertain situations [18]. Experience of seagoing is essential to appropriately review the condition of the autonomous ship [49]. Considering these, 'experience' is the crucial item to supplement the lack of ship sense and failure of the required information.…”

Positioning in the Arctic Region: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives

“…Wireless positioning is significant for the oncoming era of the Arctic region operation and, especially, autonomous ves-sel operation integrated with various robotic systems [7], [8]. It is vital to understand the threshold for an accurate position in the open sea and the harbor for safe maritime operations of crew-less vessels [9].…”

Research on Cooperative Perception of MUSVs in Complex Ocean Conditions

“…However, a single USV is limited by the limited payload it can carry in the face of diverse missions. The cooperative system composed of MUSVs, which has more robustness, mobility, flexibility, higher operational efficiency, and wider operational range, has become a new form of USV application and has received widespread attention [ 2 ]. The US Navy’s “Master Unmanned Vessel The US Navy’s “Unmanned Boat Master Program” envisions a “high-return” mission scenario for USV, and more and more heterogeneous USV with different functions will be created.…”