Zbigniew Pietrzykowski

Marine Integrated Navigational Decision Support System

The article presents a concept of an integrated navigational decision support system for vessel traffic control. The system is based on a joint platform for decision support systems on land and ships. The platform construction is recommended to be based on the shipboard navigational decision support system. The necessary scope of work to build such system is defined. The proposed integrated decision support system NAVDEC fits such concepts as e-navigation, e-maritime and intelligent marine transport systems that reflect global trends in the development of navigational systems, widely using modern information communication technologies.

Maritime Intelligent Transport Systems

The concept of intelligent transport systems, developed since 1980s, includes all modes of transport. Relevant developments in road transport are the most advanced. Recently water transport, particularly maritime transport, has gained more attention in this respect, in connection with building and further developments of maritime intelligent transport systems. The present state and directions of development of telematic systems in maritime transport will be discussed, with a focus on marine navigation.

Decision Support in Collision Situations at Sea

The known navigational systems in use perform information functions and as such are helpful in the process of safe conduct of a vessel. One of the ways to assist in reducing the number of marine accidents is the development of systems which perform decision support functions, i.e. automatically generate solutions to collision situations. The use of information (and communication) technologies including knowledge engineering allows the generation of proposals for anti-collision manoeuvres taking into account the COLREGs. Demand for further enhancement of navigational safety by limiting human errors has initiated a trend to convert navigational information systems into decision support systems. The implementation of decision support systems will potentially reduce the number of human errors, which translates into a reduction of accidents at sea and their adverse consequences. This paper presents a summary of the research to date on the navigational decision support system NAVDEC. The system has been positively verified in laboratory conditions and in field tests – on a motor ferry and a sailing ship. Challenges associated with the development and implementation of such systems are outlined.

Fuzzy logic in the navigational decision support process onboard a sea-going vessel

Ship collisions make up one of the major hazards in marine navigations. The problem of collision prevention in ship encounter situations are characterized. Described with fuzzy logic tools, criteria for the choice of track are discussed. The presented algorithm of ship track optimization in collision situations is based on the method of multi-stage control in fuzzy environment. Finally, the algorithm integrated into the navigational decision support system is presented.

The Analysis of a Ship Fuzzy Domain in a Restricted Area

Abstract The paper presents an analysis of the fuzzy domain of a ship in a restricted area. The notion of the ship fuzzy domain has been defined. Also, a method of its determination has been presented. Boundaries and areas of the ship fuzzy domain have been analysed for various levels of the navigational safety.

The Problem of Route Determination in Ship Movement in a Restricted Area

Abstract This article focuses on the problem of determining a safe trajectory of a ship proceeding in a restricted area. An algorithm of trajectory choice has been developed, taking into account the parameters of the area, own ship, target ship and other vessels sailing in vicinity. The ship domain has been adopted as a safety criterion. The research results for selected test trials are presented and analyzed. The applicability of the proposed method of trajectory choice in real conditions is considered.

Navigators’ Behavior in Traffic Separation Schemes

One of the areas of decision support in the navigational ship conduct process is a Traffic Separation Scheme. TSSs are established in areas with high traffic density, often near the shore and in port approaches. The main purpose of these schemes is to improve maritime safety by channeling vessel traffic into streams. Traffic regulations as well as ships behavior in real conditions in chosen TSSs have been analyzed in order to develop decision support algorithms.

Information Exchange Automation in Maritime Transport

To ensure the safety of maritime transport access to information must be provided through commonly used services. However, an equally important task is to determine or agree on interpretation of incoming data and assessment of a current and predicted navigational situation and, in further step, intentions of the participants in the transport process. Thanks to the standardization of information format, automatic information exchange gets increasingly wider. Another step ahead is automatic interpretation of information and automation of negotiation processes ‐ intelligent communication. Rapid development of information technology (IT) and ICT technologies creates such opportunities. This article presents the results of research on a system of automatic communication and co‐operation in maritime transport.

ESABALT Improvement of Situational Awareness in the Baltic with the Use of Crowdsourcing

This paper presents the key assumptions and preliminary research on an integrated system called ESABALT, for enhancing maritime safety, which incorporates the latest technological advances in positioning, e-Navigation, Earth observation systems and multi-channel cooperative communications. The most novel part of the ESABALT concept, however, is a focus on user-driven crowdsourcing techniques for information gathering and integration. The system will consist of a situational awareness solution for real-time maritime traffic monitoring via utilizing various positioning technologies; an observation system of the marine environment relevant to transportation and accidents including assessing the sea ice, oil spread, waves, wind etc.; and a methodology for context-aware maritime communication with cooperative, multi-channel capabilities. The paper presents the intelligent, novel, user-driven solution and associated services developed in ESABALT for enhancing the maritime safety in the whole Baltic area.

Schema of Inference Processes in a Preliminary Identification of Navigational Situation in Maritime Transport

Article presents a modified inference model for the automatic communication system at sea. After an expert examinations, the inference model based on mechanism used by navigators during decisions making has been developed. The results of expert examinations have been taken into account. The schema of actions during decision making in preliminary stage of navigational situations identification was presented on the example of collision situation at sea. The key values used in the assessment of navigational safety have been included. The examples of model application have been shown by making uses of the proposed schema.