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Whenacollisionriskforthevesselisdetected,the
navigation situation is analyzed and appropriate
action is taken, depending on its level of security.
These actions include negotiating with encountered
unitstodeterminetheoptimalrouteforthetransition.
Whennegotiatingisimpossible, anoptimalroutefor
aparticular
navigationsituationisdeterminedor an
anti‐collision maneuver is determined. Then the
process of automatic control after the route of the
transitioniscarriedout.Thisprocessiscarriedoutby
the trajectory agent, which also includes the precise
controloftheautonomousunitwhendepartingfrom
the berth,
mooring and maneuvering in narrow
passages.Theseactionsarepossiblewithinformation
fromthepositioningsystem,theradarsystem,andin
particular the LIDAR sensor system mounted in the
corneroftheautonomousvesseloroptionallyofthe
video camera system. The data received is
appropriatelytransformedsothat thealgorithm
that
determinestheshipʹsrouteandtheprecisecontrolof
following that route can be processed safely. 3D
objectsidentifiedinthemaritimenavigationareabya
radar, AIS, LIDAR sensor system or optional video
camera system are brought to the 2D plane. As a
result,allobjectsprojected
ona2Dplanearecollision
hazards for a ship on which a standalone agent
platform is installed. Depending on the motion
parameters, identified objects can be dynamic or
static. For such specific navigational limits, artificial
intelligence methods can be used to determine the
optimalrouteoftransitions.Evolutionaryalgorithms
are
used in the described system of directing the
movementofautonomouscraftsincoastalandinland
waterstodetermineoptimaltransitionroutes.
Theautonomous,ecologicalSAScraftisequipped
witha5kWelectricdrivepoweredbyabatterypack.
In addition, the autonomousunit for precise control
uses two thrusters:
bow and stern thruster, with
powerof1kWeach.Theenergystoredinthebattery
pack allows the unit to be operated for about 10
hours.In addition, the battery pack can be powered
byanauxiliarygenerator,whichallowsittooperate
when the energy in the main battery pack
is
consumed.Ontheroofoftheunit,andonthefrontof
the deck, there are photovoltaic panel units which
supplyelectricity directlyto aninverter that powers
an electric motor or to the battery pack. The unit is
also equipped with connectors to automatically
connecttothebattery
chargerinstalledonshore.
Figure12. Appearance of an exemplary autonomous unit
withpositioningsensors.
4 VERIFICATIONOFTHEAUTONOMOUS
TRANSPORTSYSTEMFORCOASTALAREAS
A network simulator of the navigational navigation
environmentwasusedtoverifytheoperation ofthe
coastal waterway system using small autonomous
ecological units. This simulator has the ability to
execute navigational scenarios along with the
parametersofthewatercoursein
whichtheyoperate.
Thesimulatorconsistsofacentralunit‐theserveron
which the navigation environment is modeled and
localstationsemulatingsingleautonomousunits.The
navigational scenarios concerned the verification of
thesysteminconflictsituationsbetweenautonomous
entities. The mathematical model of the developed
modelofthe
autonomousunitincludesthedynamic
propertiesofthehull,themainpropulsionconsisting
ofasinglefixedpitchpropeller,afinrudderandtwo
transversethrusters:fore andaft. Themodel of ship
dynamics also takes into account the influence of
hydrometeorological disturbances in the form of
wind, wave and sea
currents, as well as changes in
vessel dynamics caused by the shallow‐water effect
[25].
Verification of the motion control system of
autonomous units in coastal and inland waters was
basedon a seriesof computer simulationsusing the
simulatorofthenavigationalnavigationenvironment.
Below is an example of
a navigational situation
illustratingthemovementofautonomousunitsinthe
watersoftheGdańskBay(Figure13).
Figure13.Navigationsituation depictingthemovementof
autonomousunitsinthewatersoftheGdańskBay.
Agent platforms were launched on all units
involved in the imaged situation. Out of 6 units, 4
were equipped with an agent system. The motion
parameters and weather conditions parameters are
presentedintheFigure14.
The routes of Unit 1 and 2 are designed to
transport passengers from boarding place
to
destination place and at the same time to take
advantageofthetouristmodesothattheindividual
routecanbeplannedtoincludeareaswithinteresting
places or views of natural landmarks. Based on the
simulations,itcan beconcludedthat thesystem has
correctly implemented the control
process between
thestartingpointandthetargetpoint.Intheeventof
a collision risk, in this case exceeding the Closest
Point of Approach distance (CPA), the system
correctly corrected the current route. By using an
agent system to control autonomous units, it is
possible to set smaller values for
the smallest CPA