In the project SAFE Maritime Autonomous Technology (SAFEMATE); DNV AS, Torghatten Sør AS, Kongsberg Maritime AS, Kongsberg Discovery AS, and NTNU have joint forces to demonstrate and document increased safety and efficiency in commercial ferry operation by applying novel autonomous technology to assist human operators in navigation. The SAFEMATE project brings together all competence and technology necessary for commercializing the developed technology and by that it also bring other maritime autonomous concepts important steps closer to reality.
To achieve and demonstrate improved safety and efficiency using autonomous navigation technologies, the project have developed:
* An advanced decision support system capable of detecting and notify the navigator of uncharted obstacles posing a risk of collision
* Capable tools and processes for safety assurance of related technology elements
The goals of the project have been tested through controlled bridge simulator experiments and deployment and testing of the technology on one of the Torghatten ferries operating between Moss and Horten.
The conducted simulator experiments have been focused on safety enhancement through collaboration between navigators and autonomous systems.
The project aims to disseminate valuable results throughout the maritime industry promoting safe implementation of autonomous technologies on ships, while securing international advantages for the Norwegian maritime cluster. The results of this project has also contributed to nurturing and maturing DNV’s class rules needed for wide-scale implementation and deployment of autonomous systems in shipping.
Det gjennomførte prosjektet har styrket forskningspartnernes posisjon i et konkurranseutsatt marked gjennom utvikling av nye produkter og tjenester samt økt teknisk kompetanse på avanserte og autonome navigasjonssystemer. Dette bidrar også til å styrke den norske maritime industrien og å konsolidere Norges rolle som en av verdens mest teknologisk avanserte maritime nasjoner.
Den utviklede teknologien har blitt testet i operasjon og ett rammeverket for kvalitetssikring av denne har blitt utviklet. Prosjektet har i tillegg fokusert på simulatorbasert testing av autonome navigasjonssystemer og bidratt til utviklingen av nye og fremtidige regler for bruk av autonome navigasjonssystemer. Dette vil på sikt ha stor innvirkning på maritim sektor, og prosjektet vil gjennom dette ha bidratt til sikker innføring av og mer omfattende bruk av autonome løsninger for navigasjon.
Gjennom prosjektperioden har resultater fra prosjektet blitt formidlet i en rekke fora, forskningskonferanser og presseoppslag, både nasjonalt og internasjonalt. Samarbeidet mellom partnerne har vært godt og vil fortsette i andre prosjekter etter prosjektets slutt. Fokus fremover vil særlig være med på å øke forståelsen av samspillet mellom menneske og maskin, for å sikre trygg innføring av autonome systemer i maritim sektor.
The SAFEMATE project brings together world leading Norwegian maritime actors and a visionary Ro-Ro ferry operator to form a compact and highly capable consortium comprising of all required roles with and ideal case to apply and demonstrate manned navigation supported by autonomous technology. The SAFEMATE project will cover all areas necessary for commercialising this largely unexplored opportunity and by that also bring other maritime autonomous concepts important steps closer to reality.
The developed technology will be implemented and demonstrated on the Bastø Fosen operated ferry between Moss and Horten. By fusing information from various sources, including vison sensors, radar, maps, GPS, etc., the ship will form its own situational awareness. Based on this, proper evasive manoeuvres will be planned autonomously. The development of this capability is related to many individual innovative developments, such as independent perception systems and the development of a human-machine interface for optimised supervision ensuring that the crew remains in the loop, enabling correct and timely intervention.
The project will develop a suitable assurance framework with related tool-set that is able to handle the complexity of such systems, document system safety performance and provide all stakeholders with the necessary trust to enable the system to be put into commercial operation. This is essential to provide justified confidence in the system, a necessity for wide-scale acceptance of autonomous functions on ships. Extensive testing will be conducted in bridge simulators and onboard the Bastø VI ferry to document how the autonomous functionality affects navigational performance and safety.
The project aims to disseminate valuable results throughout the maritime industry promoting safe implementation of autonomous technologies on ships, while securing international advantages for the Norwegian maritime cluster.
