Remote Control Centre for Autonomous Ship Support

This project has aimed to establish a remote control centre for on-board support of autonomous ships, which is close relevant to the thematic area of ubiquitous data and services and digitalisation of traditional industries in the call for proposals. In particular, efforts has been put on the sub-area of autonomy and remote control technology by analysing historical/real-time ship data and modelling sophisticated planner, predictor and controller, thereby establishing remote supporting platform. The system was developed to serve for ships that are either autonomous or remote-controlled for safety and reliability enhancement. The digital agenda is one of the pillars of the European Strategy for Growth, which proposes to better exploit the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in order to foster innovation, economic growth and progress. It lists ship intelligent as one of the main areas through which to achieve growth. In marine system and transport, digitalisation can significantly improve design, operation and management through more accurate information on operational and infrastructure conditions and on the location of vehicles and/or system behaviour models. Better access to and sharing of digital data (traffic, travel, vehicle, cargo etc.) for both public and private stakeholders along the supply chain can foster seamless information flows, and open up a wide range of new business opportunities. This project was to develop a new integrated architecture for planning and execution of real time support to autonomous or semi-autonomous ship operations, with corresponding risk evaluation tools taking human factors, focusing on situational awareness, into the consideration. This served the industry for improving operational effectiveness and safety through the use of simulator facilities. The NTNU Gunnerus ship has been used as the test-bed for the project. The project has been implemented well according to the plan. We have many publications, and we have also organized two online workshops with international partners. The first time was in November 2020, and the second time was in October 2021.

The project is one (of several) key elements to secure the future of the Norwegian maritime industry. Anticipated effects of the project results • Enable the industry to implement digitalization concept: enable more efficient communication between the customer, designer, and product developer throughout the design process. • Bridge building between industry and research: combine with various disciplines and academic environments (e.g. computer science, artificial intelligence plus hydrodynamics and machinery) • Knowledge transfer: gain new knowhow and experience from digitalization and IoT for maritime industry, share knowledge between Norwegian marine expertise. • Improved competitiveness and sustainability of the Norwegian marine industry. • A remote control centre of ship operation has been established in NTNU Aalesund which could be used for future research and master, PhD education.

This project aims to establish a remote control centre for on-board support of autonomous ships, which is close relevant to the thematic area of “Ubiquitous data and services” and “Digitalisation of traditional industries” in the call for proposals. In particular, efforts will be put on the sub-area “autonomy and remote control technology” by analysing historical/real-time ship data and modelling sophisticated planner, predictor and controller, thereby establishing remote supporting platform. The system will be developed to serve for ships that are either autonomous or remote-controlled for safety and reliability enhancement. The digital agenda is one of the pillars of the European Strategy for Growth, which proposes to better exploit the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in order to foster innovation, economic growth and progress. It lists “Ship Intelligent” as one of the main areas through which to achieve growth. In marine system and transport, digitalisation can significantly improve design, operation and management through more accurate information on operational and infrastructure conditions and on the location of vehicles and/or system behaviour models. Better access to and sharing of digital data (traffic, travel, vehicle, cargo etc.) for both public and private stakeholders along the supply chain can foster seamless information flows, and open up a wide range of new business opportunities. This project is to develop a new integrated architecture for planning and execution of real time support to autonomous or semi-autonomous ship operations, with corresponding risk evaluation tools that take human factors, focusing on situational awareness, into the consideration. This will serve the industry for improving operational effectiveness and safety through the use of simulator facilities. The NTNU Gunnerus ship will be the test-bed for the project.