NO343162B1 - Procedure and system for calculating a route for vessels - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for calculating a route for a vessel comprises providing first position data indicating the starting position of the vessel, for example by receiving and registering in a recording device. Furthermore, other position data are provided indicating the position of the destination of the vessel and these can be received and recorded in the recording device. stored in a database device is used to calculate a route of the vessel from the starting position to the destination of the vessel.

Description

The invention relates to a method for preparing and presenting route proposals for the shipping fleet. However, the procedure can be used for all types of vessels where the data basis is suitable.

The shipping fleet needs tools to plan routes, both to order digital charts and to check that the route is deep enough for the vessel. A route consists of "waypoints". This is a point where the vessel must make a change of course. A line is drawn between these waypoints, and you then have a route. This is usually done manually, either on a paper map or digitally, by the user entering waypoints themselves.

Some manufacturers have drawn routes in advance where vessels can choose ready-made routes, or parts of routes in their systems.

The disadvantages of these methods are that they are time- and manpower-consuming or that ready-made routes do not cover the areas where sailing is to take place. For manually planned routes, there is also the risk that human error can lead to dangerous situations.

To meet these challenges, a system has been developed where a user can enter a route destination and calculate a route based on AIS position data.

EP 1204 957 describes a navigation method by means of transport for navigation from a starting point to a destination, where a route from the starting point and to the route's goal (destination point) is specified, and where the means of transport or its user is guided along the route.

US 2014/0180584 relates to an electronic design of a navigation route that uses data provided by the user regarding the boat's characteristics in combination with cartographic information.

Information regarding route systems on the sea can e.g. can be found on Wikipedia, for example "Traffic Separation Schemes", from Wikipedia, dated 2017.03.19; https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Traffic_Separation_Scheme&oldid=7711 57691

US 2010/0268454 and WO 2016/020878 are further examples of prior art regarding devices and methods for calculating routes.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a flexible and reliable system for preparing and presenting route proposals for ships.

The purpose of the invention is achieved by means of the features of the patent claims.

AIS (Automatic Identification System) is an automatic identification system introduced by IMO, the maritime organization of the UN, to increase the safety of ships and the environment, and to improve traffic monitoring and maritime traffic services.

The system is based on ships sending out their AIS information via VHF at regular intervals, and the signal is picked up by either a land-based station or satellite. AIS is also used by maritime traffic centers to keep track of ship traffic within their areas of responsibility.

The information may contain the following parameters:

• dynamic (position, heading, speed)

• static (identity, ship type, dimensions)

• details of the voyage (destination, estimated time of arrival, cargo, draft)

AIS is an important monitoring tool in the national preparedness along the coast. For example The Norwegian Coastal Administration is responsible for the operation of AIS stations in Norway and forwards AIS information to other public authorities. The main rescue centres, the Coast Guard and the police are some of the users who use AIS in their daily operations.

Stored AIS data can be used, among other things, to map transport patterns and trends in connection with transport planning and analysis work.

According to the invention, a method for calculating a route for a vessel comprises providing first position data indicating the starting position of the vessel, providing second position data indicating the position of the destination of the vessel, providing experience position data for previously sailed positions between the current position and the destination of the vessel and based on the experience position data, calculate a route for the vessel from the current position to the destination for the vessel.

The first position data representing the starting position of the vessel is in one embodiment the current position of the vessel. These data are determined e.g. using GPS, corrected or uncorrected. Alternatively, the map coordinates for the starting position of the vessel can be read from a map, table, or determined in another known way. The first position data may also include information on the course, direction and/or speed of the vessel in the starting position. This is particularly relevant when the starting position coincides with the vessel's current position.

The experience position data is in one embodiment AIS data. The experience position data may include information about direction associated with each position for the previously sailed positions. For example, the experience position data includes position data for a ship that has sailed from Oslo to Copenhagen. As described above, this ship sent out AIS information at regular intervals. The AIS information is stored in a database where each position received for the ship is also linked to information about the direction the ship was sailing. The directional information may be roughly indicated as north-south, or it may be in the form of the specific compass course the ship had in the corresponding position.

The route can then be calculated by selecting from the database the experience position data that is linked to the same starting position and destination and using these as the basis for the route. This can be done by the experience position data containing information about the start position and destination, or by selecting from the database experience position data that lies between the start position and the destination, and that route is selected as e.g. has the greatest density with experience position data.

The route calculation can also take into account information provided by the user, such as positions to be sailed by, or whether the route should go inland or outboard.

The calculation of the route can also make use of data indicating separation zones. Separation zones (traffic separation zones) are zones between sailing charters (sailing leader) for different sailing directions where no traffic shall take place. These separation zones are drawn on the sea charts together with the sailing directions.

In areas where there are mandatory or recommended sailing routes, the calculation of the route can also take these into account. For example, for ship traffic in international traffic that represents a particularly high accident and environmental risk, there are route systems in Norway that these must follow, which take the vessels some distance from the coast.

Information about separation zones, sailing routes, etc., can be stored linked to each experience position point.

The calculation of the route for the vessel is based on the fact that experience positions are actual positions where a vessel has previously been physically present. This means that none of the experience positions will be positions that are located on land or otherwise represent a risk.

As AIS data can also include information on ship type and dimensions, the calculation of the route in some versions will be able to take this into account. For example, the calculation will then only use experienced position data from ships of the same size (depth, weight) as the ship for which the route is calculated.

Information about the ship's turning radius can also be known and taken into account when calculating the route. This can e.g. is done by only using experience positions that correspond to or lie a certain distance from a route that follows the ship's turning radius.

Calculation of route may in one embodiment include drawing lines between nearby experience positions. The more points representing experience positions that are used, the more accurate the route will be. In some embodiments, the calculation may include using experience positions that lie within a predetermined area or experience positions that have a predetermined maximum and/or minimum distance between them. To obtain a route with fewer points, the calculation may include using a smoothing function or an averaging function to smooth lines drawn between each point on the route.

According to the invention, the finally calculated route includes calculating waypoints for the route. This is done directly based on experience position data or after a line is drawn between experience positions with or without smoothing the line.

Such waypoints are calculated by averaging experienced position data over an area.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying figures.

Figure 1 illustrates the principle of radio localization of ships and indicates how this can be used in connection with the invention.

Figure 2 illustrates with an example how AIS data recorded in a map can be used to map sailing patterns.

Figure 3 shows an example of a calculated route inland and outside for the same section.

Figure 4 shows an example of route calculation that takes separation zones into account.

Figure 1 illustrates the principle of radio localization of ships and indicates how this can be used in connection with the invention. A ship 11 sends out its position information or other information, such as e.g. AIS information, via VHF at regular intervals. The signal is captured by either a land-based station 10 if close enough to land, or satellite 12. The received data is stored and can be used as experience position data in the method and system according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a section of AIS data plotted on a map. Figure 2a clearly shows that there is a concentration of ship traffic in specific areas. When you enlarge the image (see figure 2b), it becomes clear that the position points and the lines drawn through each point are not accurate enough to give a route suggestion.

This is because usually only one line is drawn from point to point for each ship. As each ship sends out an AIS signal periodically, the line will often go over land where the ship is sailing close to the coast.

The method and system according to the invention solves this by not looking at one ship at a time, but using experienced position data, in this case the AIS position points, from several ships. The AIS positions themselves will not be on land, so if you have enough points, you can rather draw a line between the nearest position points and avoid going over land. In addition, account is taken of the direction each ship had at each position point. If you then have enough points, the route proposal will be fairly accurate. In some cases, at least 95% of the proposed waypoints are used without change.

As an example: When a ship is to sail from one port to another, the first port will be set to the first position data indicating the starting position of the vessel on the voyage. The second port (destination) is set to second position data indicating the position of the destination of the vessel. Experiential location data is provided, e.g. AIS data, for previously sailed positions between the current position and the destination of the vessel and based on the experienced position data, a route for the vessel is calculated from the current position to the destination of the vessel.

If one looks at the raw data, then a route that goes outwards would like to look like the dashed line 30 in Figure 3a. In this illustration, the route is calculated with experience position points for only 2 months. By using data for a longer period of time, the route calculation will be able to be more accurate. For example points for 12 months will yield over 10 billion points, and when the model runs with all the points available, the route proposal will be corrected.

Figure 3b shows an example of a proposed route 31 in the same direction as in Figure 3a. As you can see, this follows the most common route very precisely without going overland. Even with only 2 months of points.

In one embodiment, the calculation of the route takes into account the direction of the ship at each individual point. This means that separation zones 40, 41 can be taken into account in relation to which direction the route is chosen.

Figure 4a shows an example of separation zones that ships in the English Channel must comply with, drawn on a map. The calculated route to and from the same ports will then change depending on which direction you want to sail, i.e. which ports are the starting position and destination. Figure 4b shows that in the English Channel, a route from e.g. Oslo to Rome show a northern route 42 which corresponds to the separation zone, and opposite a southern route 43 if the route runs from Rome to Oslo.

Figure 5 shows an example of a possible presentation of a route calculated as described above. The route is presented here with waypoints, W11, W12, lines 50 between waypoints and with the boat's turning radius 51 (can be changed by the user).

Claims (13)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. Procedure for calculating a route for vessels, comprising: - providing first position data indicating the starting position of the vessel, - providing second position data indicating the position of the destination of the vessel, - provide experience position data for previously sailed positions between the current position and the destination of the vessel, characterized by - based on the experience position data, calculate a route for the vessel from the starting position to the destination for the vessel, where calculation of the route for the vessel includes calculating waypoints for the route based on experience position data, as waypoints are calculated by averaging experience position data over an area. 2. Method according to claim 1, where the starting position of the vessel is the current position of the vessel. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, where the experienced position data is AIS data. 4. Method according to one of the preceding requirements, where experience position data includes information about direction associated with each position for the previously sailed positions. 5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, comprising providing data indicating separation zones and using this separation zone data when calculating the route for the vessel. 6. Procedure according to one of the preceding requirements, where the calculation of the route for the vessel includes drawing lines between nearby experience positions. 7. Method according to claim 6, where the calculation of the route further comprises smoothing the line drawn between each point on the route. 8. Procedure according to one of the preceding requirements, where the route calculation also uses information about ship type and dimensions. 9. Method according to one of the preceding requirements, where the calculation of the route also uses information about the ship's turning radius. 10. System for calculating a route for vessels, comprising: - a recording device for receiving and recording first position data indicating the starting position of the vessel and second position data indicating the position of the destination of the vessel, - at least one database device for recording and storing experience position data for previously sailed positions between the current position and the destination of the vessel, - a data processing device adapted to, based on the experience position data, calculate a route for the vessel from the current position to the destination for the vessel, where calculation of the route for the vessel includes calculating waypoints for the route based on experience position data, as waypoints are calculated by averaging experience position data over an area. 11. System according to claim 10, wherein the starting position of the vessel is the current position of the vessel. 12. System according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the experienced position data is AIS data. 13. System according to one of the claims 10-12, where experience position data includes information about direction associated with each position for the previously sailed positions.