Marine Navigation Using Expert System

ABSTRACT: A ship's autopilot adjustment is a matter of utmost importance since it affects its safety, command as well as fuel and time efficiency. A number of methods have been developed in order to cope with this issue usually based on models that simulate the weather conditions and adjust the device accordingly. Some of them have a considerable degree of success but none dealt with the problem completely. The main obstacles are the difficulty of simulating the infinite weather and loading conditions and to properly represent them with mathematical equations or rules. This paper describes a method of selecting the best out of a pre-existing set of configurations, taking into account any weather situation, loading condition and type of ship. Moreover, the selected configuration can improve itself during the entire life cycle of the vessel, since it fine tunes its properties for better results. This approach uses Case Based Reasoning as its core technology and is a part of a hybrid system that analyses and solves prefixed problems of maritime interest.

KEYWORDS: Marine Navigation, Safety of Navigation, Weather Condition, Computer Simulation, Case Based Reasoning (CBR), Expert System, Loading Condition, Decision Support System (DSS)

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Citation note:

Nikitakos N., Fikaris G.: Marine Navigation Using Expert System. TransNav, the International Journal on Marine Navigation and Safety of Sea Transportation, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 251-259, 2009

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