A PILOTING ADVISOR BASED UPON COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ECDIS TECHNOLOGY

INLAND WATERWAYS AND TERMINAL FACILITIES ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE CONGESTED, RESULTING IN INCREASED RISKS OF COLLISIONS AND GROUNDINGS. DUE TO ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS IT IS GENERALLY NOT FEASIBLE TO EXPAND WATERWAYS OR TERMINALS IN CURRENTLY CONGESTED AREAS. ONE WAY TO MEET THE DEMAND FOR INCREASED SHIPPING TONNAGE IS TO IMPROVE THE PRECISION OF PILOTING COMMERCIAL VESSELS. ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS WHICH ARE NOW BEING IMPLEMENTED CAN PROVIDE EXTREMELY ACCURATE POSITIONAL INFORMATION, BUT THE FUNCTION OF PILOTING IN CLOSE WATERS REQUIRES A WIDE RANGE OF SENSORY INPUTS AND SKILLS BEYOND POSITION FIXING ALONE. THE EMERGENCE OF GOVERNMENT SANCTIONED ELECTRONIC CHART DISPLAY AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ECDIS) WILL SOON PROVIDE A RELIABLE SOURCE OF COMPUTER READABLE DATA FROM WHICH KNOWLEDGE SETS SUITABLE FOR USE IN REASONING ABOUT VESSEL PILOTING CAN BE EXTRACTED. WORK IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATED DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR VESSEL PILOTING HAS SHOWN SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL FOR INCREASING THE PERFORMANCE OF PILOTS NAVIGATING IN CLOSE WATERS UNDER HIGH TASK LOADING. THIS PROJECT PROPOSES TO INTEGRATE ECDIS DATABASES WITH KNOWLEDGE ABOUT VESSEL PILOTING USING EXPERT SYSTEMS AND OTHER FORMS OF COMPUTATIONAL INTELLIGENCE. THE RESULTING SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE PILOTING ADVISORIES WHICH WILL REDUCE SOME OF THE LOAD ON PILOTS AND MASTERS.