All vehicles, whether on-road or in the water, should be operated at speeds that are appropriate to the environmental conditions. Speed limits and warning signs guide our behaviour when driving on roads, but there are no signs at sea. Experience helps, but how can boats be operated safely by the less experienced crew? To address this, Hefring Marine has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution that gives the vessel operator the safe maximum speed of a boat, in real-time, based on the current and predicted environmental conditions.
Using AI, the Hefring Marine intelligent operating assistant provides a ‘dynamic speedo’ which displays a maximum safe speed that is determined by the prevailing sea conditions and vessel motions, helping the boat to be operated safely and ensuring a comfortable trip for passengers. The system uses sophisticated sensors to analyse the motion of the boat, including the strength and frequency of wave impacts and the boat’s speed. This information is analysed by the system’s AI to determine the boat’s safe operating speed that is displayed on an intuitive, easy to read display.
Future developments, due for launch in 2021, will increase the system’s capabilities to provide optimum speed and heading information and increase boat tracking and analytics by using the AI to collect and process more data from sensors and the boat’s instruments to get a more accurate profile of the vessel’s motions, environment and route ahead. It will also be more adaptable to each boat’s situation; learning how each boat and captain behave and use a combination of historical, real-time and forecast data to quickly generate decisions on the optimised speed and heading needed for a safer, smoother and more fuel-efficient ride.
Cloud Computing to Manage Performance and Safety
All trip information is collected and stored on a secure cloud server from where intuitive reports and statistics can be generated, accessed and analysed by fleet managers, vessel captains or owners. This cloud-based system provides a detailed log of exactly how, when, where and by whom a boat has been used and handled. This is a key benefit for rental and charter companies or boat clubs to ensure their boats are operated in an appropriate way. It can also provide boat builders with the opportunity to offer their clients a value-adding service that can help them quickly learn how to safely operate their new boat and enhance their overall boating experience. By installing Hefring Marine’s solution, boat suppliers can realise better premiums, support higher resale values, provide a tool for reducing fuel consumption and maintain a complete driving log for maintenance and repair purposes.
The system provides real-time tracking of the boat and automatically generates reports after each trip. The boat’s actual speed compared to the safe maximum speed, as well as the boat’s motions are always recorded, showing if, where and when the boat was operated at an unsafe speed and how it behaved. The system also logs who piloted the vessel, the time and duration of the trip, the number of passengers onboard and fuel used. Information about any faults encountered during the trip can be entered into the trip report and comments can be added by both the operator on board as well as the admin, owner or manager on land or, where applicable, on the mother vessel.
With monitoring and tracking also come the benefit of increased security as in case of theft the system provides complete information about the boat’s position.
Changing Behaviours
In addition to extensive research into vessel motion during the development of the system, the Hefring Marine team conducted research to compare operator behaviour. The operators driving was monitored both when they were aware and unaware of a system onboard; the difference in behaviour was striking. With all else being mostly equal, trips were on average slower, smoother and safer when the operator was aware of the system, with peak g-force impacts being 60 – 70% lower compared to trips where the operator was unaware of the system.
Keeping everyone comfortable
The severity of recorded impacts varies significantly at different positions in the boat. It is often the case that a boat operator may not be aware of impacts that are being experienced by passengers and other crew elsewhere in the boat. This has in some instances resulted in accidents and injuries to passengers, but in several studies impacts recorded at the bow were six to nine times greater than those recorded by the operator’s stern-side seat. The Hefring Marine intelligent assistant ensures that the pilot operates the vessel at a speed that is comfortable and safe for all passengers on the vessel wherever they are located.
Used by the Icelandic Coast Guard
The Hefring Marine system is in use by the Icelandic Coast Guard, who is also assisting the team with testing the next-generation system. Einar Þór Hansen, Ship Supervisor for the coastguard commented:
“The Icelandic Coast Guard has been using Hefring Marine in the MOB tenders to the patrol ship, Týr. The system has proven very useful in particular for missions where we have had to face tough sea conditions, which happens regularly around the Icelandic coast. It helps our operators improve safety by evaluating how fast they should go based on prevailing conditions and has also been helpful as a tool to train new operators. It further allows us to compare operators to determine who performs best when it comes to the handling of the crew and sensitive equipment.”
Forum Technologies Ltd is a British SME providing business development services to high-tech companies to market and deliver their products into the UK and international maritime markets. Forum Technologies’ portfolio includes companies that supply safety and security systems into the defence, maritime security and superyacht industries.
Contact: Nick Swift nick.swift@forumtechologies.co.uk
