Robust Machine Executable Collision Regulations at Sea - collision avoidance for unmanned ships

Compliance with current and future regulations is instrumental to the wide-scale exploitation of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at sea. Satisfactory autonomous operation in accordance with the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 (Colregs) is furthermore pivotal to maritime safety. Machine execution of the Colregs has been investigated in limited circumstances and this project aims to develop a more comprehensive capability and demonstrate satisfactory execution in real-world representative sea trials.

With support from staff at the Warsash School of Maritime Science and Engineering, the industrial participants aim to:

demonstrate autonomous control of a USV for mine counter measure operations, and
develop broader USV applications along with navigational support for larger conventional vessels.
A key innovation will be the use of Warsash’s networked bridge simulators as a safe yet effective test environment. These highly immersive simulators, ordinarily used for mariner training, will be used to rapidly iterate development in light of human reaction from the crew of a virtual vessel encountering a synthetic autonomous vessel.

MAXCMAS : Significant achievements.

Quote from Rolls Royce Future Technologies group :
“Successfully adapted a commercial-specification bridge simulator as a test bed for autonomous navigation that can…
- Flex to multiple vessel types in any conditions and any corner of the world
- Partake in distributed exercises with other crewed bridge simulators for immersive human-in-the-loop testing”

As far as we can ascertain this is the first in the world of attempting this type of integration for an autonomous vessel. This has been achieved without modifying simulation software meaning the interface could be placed on a live platform without further changes.

Validated autonomous seafarer-like collision avoidance in likely real-world scenarios, using professional instructors as they would assess the human.

Demonstrated COLREGs compliant behaviour beyond the state-of-the-art such as handling….
- In-extremis behaviour (i.e. requiring rule deviation)
- Conflicting responsibilities between multiple vessels
- Nuances e.g. special vessel status, limited visibility, separation schemes.