SHIP MOTION DETERMINATION SYSTEM AT PIERSIDE

A DEMONSTRATION MOORED-SHIP MOTION DETERMINATION (MSMD) SYSTEM WILL BE BUILT AND TESTED. THE MSMD SYSTEM TRACKS CONTAINER CARGO SHIPS AT PIERSIDE, USING A PIER-MOUNTED SENSOR SUITE. AN EXTENDED KALMAN FILTER CONVERTS THE SENSORREADINGS INTO A PREDICTION OF THE POSITION, ORIENTATION AND MOTION OF THE SHIP, IN ALL SIX DEGREES OF FREEDOM. THE CONFIGURATION OF SENSORS FOR THE MSMD SYSTEM AND THE MATHEMATICAL ALGORITHMS FOR THE KALMAN FILTER HAVE ALREADY BEEN DERIVED, AND THE COMPUTATIONAL ACCURACY OF THE SYSTEM HAS BEEN VERIFIED, BASED ON OBSERVED SHIP MOTIONS, AND SENSOR ACCURACIES. IN THE PROPOSED PHASE I PROJECT, SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTING THE MSMD ALGORITHMS WILL BE WRITTEN AND INSTALLED IN A PORTABLE PC, THE PC WILL BE INTEGRATED ACTUAL SENSORS, AND CONTROLLED TESTING WILL BE CONDUCTED TO VALIDATE THE MSMD CONCEPT FOR MARINE TERMINAL USE. FINALLY,COMPUTATIONS TO CONVERT SHIP POSITIONS INTO CONTAINER DESTINATIONS, BASED ON A SHIP BLUEPRINT, WILL BE ADDED TO THE SOFTWARE. THE PROPOSED DEMONSTRATION MSMD SYSTEM WILL SHOW THE PRACTICAL FEASIBILITY OF TRACKING THE CONTAINER DESTINATION DESPITE SHIP MOTION DURING THE LOADING PROCESS, AND WILL PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR A FULL PROTOTYPE, TO BE BUILT AND INTEGRATED WITH A CRANE CONTROL IN PHASE II.