E!113902 VDR-based support for e-navigation services: fostering ship autonomy, monitoring and remote piloting

"Revolutionizing the Seas: NAVTOR and Danelec Marine Pave the Way for Smart Shipping" In the vast expanse of the open sea, shipping is embarking on an exciting new era. From cutting-edge autonomous vessels to time-honored traditional boats, the maritime industry is in dire need of harnessing and analyzing sensor data to make the most informed decisions possible. This is precisely the mission that NAVTOR and Danelec Marine have undertaken, and their latest innovation is set to transform the maritime landscape - the e-VDR, or enhanced-Voyage Data Recorder. The e-VDR, an acronym for "enhanced-Voyage Data Recorder," represents the future of ship data recording. It transcends the traditional role of merely storing data and aspires to transmit critical sensor information from ships to shore in real time, depending on the vessel's available bandwidth and communication coverage. This breakthrough enables the seamless collection of essential data from on-board sensors, previously requiring manual retrieval. Not only does this relieve ships of tedious data management tasks, but it also grants onshore organizations a far deeper understanding of the maritime environment. The most thrilling aspect of the eVDR project lies in the utilization of the amassed data. By frequently dispatching this information to on-board applications, the project has unlocked the potential to generate real-time reports and insights, an unattainable feat until now. This real-time data stream provides a comprehensive view of the ship's movements, encompassing data on direction, course over ground, speed over ground, depth, and wind speed. It is this wealth of information that is a cornerstone for setting up a "remote operations center," where onshore teams can simultaneously monitor and guide multiple vessels to optimize their operations. An equally captivating facet of the project is its user-friendliness. Extensive studies of user interfaces and user experiences have culminated in a platform that simplifies data comprehension and management. This intuitive design is not only beneficial for onshore organizations but will also serve as the foundation for future application and platform development, heralding a revolution in the way ships operate. As a tantalizing glimpse into the possibilities of this technology, the project has already established a pilot program. This pilot provides real-time insights into a ship's movements, including details on its direction, course over ground, speed over ground, depth, and wind speed, in addition to engine commands. Termed "Conning," this feature equips onshore teams with the tools they need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the conditions and status on board. In summary, this project is a significant stride towards achieving "Total Ship Operations." With NAVTOR and Danelec Marine leading the charge, the future of shipping is ripe with exciting prospects, where autonomous and traditional vessels alike are becoming increasingly intelligent and interconnected.

NVT will use the project outcome to establish a new generation shore based, real time monitoring and decision support services. NVT has established the backbone and storage solutions for a new generation of shore-based monitoring and decision support services. Through the knowledge gathered together with our partner Danelec we have understood the importance of utilizing the data both on board and on shore for reporting as well as monitoring and decision support. Establishing a framework that underscores transparency between ships and shore, and utilizing the same verified data for both reports and high-speed transmissions to the shore, creates a shared reference point. This not only promotes consistency but also eliminates disputes regarding reported or collected data between ship and shore. With the infrastructure in place and a framework of graphical user interfaces in place we are ready to implement the data into NAVTOR suite of applications and portals for the benefit of both the mariners and shore-based teams.

The future autonomous vessel will be equipped with many more types of sensors such as LIDAR’s and CAM’s than defined in the scope of the current IMO MSC.333(90) resolution. The requirements for the way that, e.g., Radar is recorded is also expected to change (streaming video instead of image snapshots). Through this project, the partners will re-define the eVDR to cope with the requirements for autonomous vessels (e.g. updates in the configuration firmware, video module input firmware and data player tool to support different types of data). Also, the eVDR capsule capacity will be updated to cope with legal requirements and IMO recommendations (WP2). Then, the design and implementation of the communication solution will be addressed (WP3) in order to obtain the most suitable compression of data from RADAR, LIDAR and CAM systems. This is necessary because the remote monitoring and supervision application will not require full and high-quality data with low latency for all phases of the autonomous vessel’s journey. This adaptive/intelligent system of data selection and management involves breakthrough innovation to be developed in WP3. The access to the stored data in DM eVDR will be a challenge addressed by NVT in WP4 using new connectors to DM and refine NVT’s Azure based Data Centre, back office, etc. This will provide the bridging between the e-Nav Platform from NVT and the data from the eVDR (collected from different vessel devices), processed and initially stored by the DM eVDRConnect and VDRConnect Cloud. The complete service, from data collection on board via DM data centre, to the office-based fleet operation centre, will be assembled in WP5. The new data feeds from the eVDR will be integrated into the NVT e-Navigation platform in order to obtain a holistic e-navigation service including the applications for remote monitoring and supervision.