WO2018150098A1 - Remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel - Google Patents

Remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2018150098A1
WO2018150098A1 PCT/FI2018/050114 FI2018050114W WO2018150098A1 WO 2018150098 A1 WO2018150098 A1 WO 2018150098A1 FI 2018050114 W FI2018050114 W FI 2018050114W WO 2018150098 A1 WO2018150098 A1 WO 2018150098A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
remote operation
operation centre
vessel
light sources
driving circuit
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/FI2018/050114
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Sauli SIPILÄ
Iiro LINDBORG
Mikko MERTOVAARA
Original Assignee
Rolls-Royce Oy Ab
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Rolls-Royce Oy Ab filed Critical Rolls-Royce Oy Ab
Publication of WO2018150098A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018150098A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/0011—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/011—Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B49/00—Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63H—MARINE PROPULSION OR STEERING
    • B63H25/00—Steering; Slowing-down otherwise than by use of propulsive elements; Dynamic anchoring, i.e. positioning vessels by means of main or auxiliary propulsive elements
    • B63H25/02—Initiating means for steering, for slowing down, otherwise than by use of propulsive elements, or for dynamic anchoring
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/0011—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement
    • G05D1/0038—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots associated with a remote control arrangement by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/02—Control of position or course in two dimensions
    • G05D1/0206—Control of position or course in two dimensions specially adapted to water vehicles
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
    • G09B9/00—Simulators for teaching or training purposes
    • G09B9/02—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft
    • G09B9/06—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft for teaching control of ships, boats, or other waterborne vehicles
    • G09B9/063—Simulators for teaching or training purposes for teaching control of vehicles or other craft for teaching control of ships, boats, or other waterborne vehicles by using visual displays
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
    • B63B35/00—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for
    • B63B2035/006—Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled
    • B63B2035/008—Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled remotely controlled

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel, or more particularly for simulating one or more operational conditions of the vessel.
  • Unmanned marine vessels are vessels that sail at sea without any crew on-board. Such vessels can be controlled remotely by a human or autonomously in order to replace human operators on-board with automation technologies. However, the operation of these vessels may require human intervention in certain situations.
  • the unmanned marine vessels can be controlled by human operators working at a remote operation centre usually located ashore.
  • a variety of sensors and cameras are arranged at the marine vessel to detect and observe the ship status, operation of the various systems of the marine vessel, fault situations, the behaviour of the marine vessel and its cargo, motions of the marine vessel, the environment of the marine vessel, waves, weather conditions, other sea traffic for avoidance of collisions etc. An amount of this kind of information is then gathered, processed and transferred to the remote operation centre wherein the operator can remotely monitor and control the marine vessel and solve possible fault conditions.
  • the remote operation centre may be able to simulate an environment on board the vessel in order to provide the operator with a more realistic and immersive experience of controlling the vessel.
  • the remote operation centre may be able to create ambient conditions therein to inform the human operator instinctively or sub-consciously about the environmental conditions surrounding the vessel .
  • a remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel.
  • the remote operation centre may also be provided to control the vessel.
  • the remote operation centre comprises a display arrangement comprising at least one display configured to provide a visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel; one or more light sources disposed inside the remote operation centre; and a driving circuit.
  • the driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel, and to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre (1) based at least on the received signals.
  • the vessel may be an unmanned vessel.
  • the vessel may be a marine vessel, and airborne vessel, a land vessel or any other unmanned vessel.
  • one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel include weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel.
  • the driving circuit is configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create an ambient light that corresponds to at least one of the weather and illumination at the location of the vessel.
  • the remote operation centre comprises an operator chair fixed to the floor, the operator chair being positioned lying on a symmetry axis therein.
  • the display arrangement is arranged as a vertical half- cylinder formation to provide a 180-degrees panoramic view for an operator sitting in the operator chair in relation to the symmetry axis.
  • the one or more light sources comprise a first set of light sources disposed behind the vertical half-cylinder formation and obscured from the view of an operator sitting in the operator chair.
  • the first set of light sources comprises a light source disposed behind each of the individual displays of the display arrangement.
  • the one or more light sources comprise a second set of light sources disposed at the edge of at least one display of the display arrangement.
  • the remote operation centre comprises at least one wall disposed behind the display arrangement, and the one or more light sources comprise a third set of light sources attached to the wall.
  • the wall according to this embodiment may be a wall of a room where the remote operation centre is located.
  • the remote operation centre may include a room which encloses e.g. the display arrangement and the operator's chair.
  • the driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel from one or more sensors aboard the vessel.
  • the driving circuit is also configured to retrieve information indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel over the World Wide Web from a weather service.
  • visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel that is provided on at least one display includes a video feed from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
  • the driving circuit is configured to control the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre based on the received signals and the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
  • the driving circuit is configured to: gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the current weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel; and gradually increase or decrease the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre.
  • the driving circuit is configured to gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the lighting in the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
  • one or more light sources comprise Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) .
  • the driving circuit is configured to adjust at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources based on predefined operator preferences. This is an additional adjustment that may correspond, for example, to user preference regarding changes in intensity of lights and brightness of the displays .
  • a method for illuminating a remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel comprises receiving signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of a vessel and a video feed from at least one camera aboard the vessel.
  • the method further comprises controlling at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre based at least on the received signals.
  • the method also comprises displaying the received video feed on at least one display of a display arrangement of the remote operation centre.
  • FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of the remote operation centre according to one embodiment of the disclosure
  • FIG. 2 is a top view of the remote operation centre according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a top view of the remote operation centre in a room according to an embodiment
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic of the remote operation centre according to one embodiment.
  • FIGS. 1 to 4 show a remote operation centre 1 for remote monitoring of vessels (not shown) .
  • the vessel may generally include a marine vessel (e.g. ship or submarine) .
  • the vessel may be an aircraft (airplane or spaceship) , a land-based vehicle (e.g. car or tank) or any other type of vessel configured to move by a propulsion source.
  • the vessel may be an unmanned marine vessel, i.e. the vessel may be autonomous or have an auto ⁇ pilot feature.
  • the remote operation centre 1 is located remotely to the vessel on a shore or the like, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away. In other examples, the remote operation centre 1 may be located on a deck or some other location in the vessel itself without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
  • the vessel may comprise a sensing arrangement associated therewith.
  • the sensing arrangement is associated with the one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel.
  • the sensing arrangement can comprise one or more sensors to detect weather conditions, illumination levels on a real-time basis.
  • the sensing arrangement can further comprise one or more video cameras that capture a video feed on a real-time basis.
  • the sensing arrangement is configured to generate a signal indicative of some parameters of its surroundings such as daylight cycle, current illumination levels, weather conditions and others.
  • an additional signal indicative of the weather and e.g. time of day at the location of the vessel may be generated externally, for example from satellite imagery or other weather and/or navigation services.
  • the functioning of sensors, in the sensing arrangement, for determining parameters of the surroundings of the vessel, like the weather and illumination is well known, and thus has not been described herein for the brevity of the disclosure.
  • the vessel may also comprise a transmission unit associated with the sensing arrangement.
  • the transmission unit is configured to transmit, on a real-time basis, the generated signals to the remote operation centre 1.
  • the transmission unit is configured to transmit the signals to the remote operation centre 1 via multi-mode wireless communication means, such as the use of satellites providing wireless channels implementing communication standards like GPRS, CDMA, 3G, 4G, to ensure the timeliness and reliability of data transmission.
  • the remote operation centre 1 is designed in consideration of one operator.
  • the remote operation centre 1 comprises a display arrangement 4 including a plurality of displays.
  • the arrangement 4 only includes one display.
  • the remote operation centre 1 further comprises at least one light source 2, 3 schematically illustrated with light bulbs, and an operator chair 5.
  • the operator chair 5 can be fixed to the floor.
  • the operator chair 5 may be arranged to face towards the display arrangement 4.
  • the display arrangement 4 may be configured as a vertical half-cylinder formation to provide a 180-degrees panoramic view for the operator sitting in the operator chair 5. As Fig. 3 illustrates, the view may be even wider and not limited to 180-degrees.
  • the display arrangement 4 may comprise a plurality of flat or curved displays arranged in the half-cylinder formation.
  • the operator chair 5 may be arranged symmetrically in relation to a vertical symmetry axis A of the display arrangement 4, i.e. the centre of the radius of the half-cylinder formation of the main display arrangement 4 lies on the symmetry axis A.
  • the remote operation centre 1 comprises one or more light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30.
  • the one or more light sources comprise a first set of light sources (generally labelled as 2) .
  • the first set 2 is disposed behind the display arrangement 4 and obscured from the view of an operator sitting in the operator chair 5. This can provide ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1 without interfering with the visual perception of the displays 4.
  • Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of a set of light sources 30 where a light source is positioned behind each individual display. This allows bringing the attention of the operator to that display.
  • a second possible set of light sources may be disposed in a space between the operator chair 5 and the display arrangement 4.
  • the lights 3 may be positioned above both in form of an indirect light panel that can provide filtered light.
  • Different sets of light sources may be used to simulate different parameters of the surroundings of the vessel.
  • the set of sources 3 may contribute to direct ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1.
  • a third set of light sources 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2, and includes light sources attached to edges of the displays of the display arrangement 4. This adds to the variety of the ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1.
  • Fig. 3 shows the remote operation centre 1 to include a room with four walls 6.
  • the remote operation centre 1 may comprise only one wall 6 behind the display arrangement 4.
  • a fourth set of light sources 21 for ambient light is illustrated on Fig. 3 as light sources attached to one of the walls 6.
  • the remote operation centre 1 further comprises a driving circuit configured to control the light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30.
  • the driving circuit is not shown on Figs. 1-3 and may be in connection with the one or more light sources.
  • the driving circuit may be electrically coupled with each of the light sources.
  • the driver circuit may also regulate the power supplied to the individual light sources.
  • the driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel. These signals may be received, for example, from sensing arrangement on the vessel.
  • the driving circuit is further configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30 to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 based at least on the received signals. This creates am ambient environment in the remote operation centre 1 that simulates or corresponds to the surroundings of the vessel .
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary schematic of the remote operation centre 1.
  • the driver circuit 8 in one example, may comprise a receiver 81 configured to receive the generated signals, namely, the signals indicating parameters of the surroundings of the vessel.
  • the receiver 81 may be in signal communication with the transmission unit in the vessel to receive the signals via one or more standard communication channels as discussed above.
  • the receiver may further be configured to decode signals from other transmitters sending out weather or navigation related signals on a real-time basis.
  • the receiver 81 may be a standalone component, and not a part of the driving circuit 8 but in connection therewith.
  • the driving circuit 8 is configured to control the one or more light sources 2, 3 individually or in groups.
  • the driving circuit controls at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of the light sources 2, 3 to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 based at least on the received signals.
  • the driving circuit 8 may include a processor 82, and at least one memory for example, a memory 83.
  • the memory 83 is capable of storing machine executable instructions, and the processor 82 is capable of executing the stored machine executable instructions.
  • the memory 83 may be embodied as one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and/or a combination of one or more volatile memory devices and non-volatile memory devices.
  • the processor 82 may be embodied in a number of different ways.
  • the processor 82 may be embodied as one or more of various processing devices, such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP) , processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , a microcontroller unit (MCU) , a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like.
  • the processor 82 is an iOS based or a similar processing unit.
  • the processor 82 utilizes computer program code perform one or more actions responsible for controlling the one or more light sources 2,3.
  • the driving circuit 8 is configured to gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources 2,3 to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 to the current weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel. Further, for simulating the current weather conditions and/or illumination levels at the location of the vessel, the driving circuit 8 is configured to selectively change one of intensity, colour and temperature of the light sources and brightness of the displays 4. This is achieved by measuring a current illumination state of the remote operation centre 1 by suitable instruments and adjusting the lower level of the brightness of the displays of the display arrangement 4 to be comfortable in the current illumination state. Thereby, the brightness of the displays can automatically adapt to the general ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1.
  • the driving circuit 8 is configured to adjust at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources based on predefined operator preferences.
  • the present system may include means to identify different operators, such as by the current logged-in profile of the operator, or by using techniques, such as facial or voice recognition, etc. Further, the present system may build a library of operator preferences, such as the preferred mode (e.g., switching ON/OFF, colour control, brightness control, etc.) for simulating the surroundings of the vessel and store such preferences in a memory. As the current operator is identified, the present system may load these operator preferences and configure the driver circuit 8 to use the defined modes for simulating the weather and illumination conditions of the vessel.
  • the preferred mode e.g., switching ON/OFF, colour control, brightness control, etc.
  • the remote operation centre 1 of the present disclosure can simulate weather conditions and daylight at the location of the vessel in order to provide the operator with a deeper and more immersive experience and provide the operator with a sense of being at a navigation bridge of the vessel.
  • the remote operation centre 1 creates an effect of presence and provides information that can be perceived subconsciously without distracting the operator from controlling or monitoring the vessel. Therefore, the present disclosure provides an operator sitting on the operator chair 5 in the remote operation centre 1 with substantially realistic experience as if the operator is on-board the vessel.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
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  • Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
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  • Educational Technology (AREA)
  • Circuit Arrangement For Electric Light Sources In General (AREA)

Abstract

A remote operation centre (1) for monitoring a vessel is presented. The remote operation centre (1) comprises a display arrangement (4) comprising at least one display configured to provide a visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel. The remote operation centre (1) further comprises one or more light sources (2, 3) disposed inside the remote operation centre (1) that can provide ambient lighting. The remote operation centre (1) also comprises a driving circuit (8) configured to receive signals indicative of the surroundings of the vessel, and to control parameters of one or more light sources (2, 3) to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre (1) based at least on the received signals.

Description

REMOTE OPERATION CENTRE FOR MONITORING A VESSEL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to a remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel, or more particularly for simulating one or more operational conditions of the vessel.
BACKGROUND
Unmanned marine vessels are vessels that sail at sea without any crew on-board. Such vessels can be controlled remotely by a human or autonomously in order to replace human operators on-board with automation technologies. However, the operation of these vessels may require human intervention in certain situations. The unmanned marine vessels can be controlled by human operators working at a remote operation centre usually located ashore. In order to enable this, a variety of sensors and cameras are arranged at the marine vessel to detect and observe the ship status, operation of the various systems of the marine vessel, fault situations, the behaviour of the marine vessel and its cargo, motions of the marine vessel, the environment of the marine vessel, waves, weather conditions, other sea traffic for avoidance of collisions etc. An amount of this kind of information is then gathered, processed and transferred to the remote operation centre wherein the operator can remotely monitor and control the marine vessel and solve possible fault conditions.
It is desired that the operator can have as good as possible situational awareness of the vessel in order to enable good decision-making. It is desirable that the remote operation centre may be able to simulate an environment on board the vessel in order to provide the operator with a more realistic and immersive experience of controlling the vessel. Particularly, it is desirable that the remote operation centre may be able to create ambient conditions therein to inform the human operator instinctively or sub-consciously about the environmental conditions surrounding the vessel .
OBJECTIVE OF THE DISCLOSURE
It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a remote operation centre for monitoring an unmanned marine vessel.
It is also an objective of the present disclosure to provide a remote operation centre that can continuously simulate at least one parameter of the environment around the unmanned marine vessel.
SUMMARY
According to a first aspect, a remote operation centre is provided for monitoring a vessel. The remote operation centre may also be provided to control the vessel. The remote operation centre comprises a display arrangement comprising at least one display configured to provide a visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel; one or more light sources disposed inside the remote operation centre; and a driving circuit. The driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel, and to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre (1) based at least on the received signals. The vessel may be an unmanned vessel. The vessel may be a marine vessel, and airborne vessel, a land vessel or any other unmanned vessel. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel include weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create an ambient light that corresponds to at least one of the weather and illumination at the location of the vessel.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, it comprises an operator chair fixed to the floor, the operator chair being positioned lying on a symmetry axis therein.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the display arrangement is arranged as a vertical half- cylinder formation to provide a 180-degrees panoramic view for an operator sitting in the operator chair in relation to the symmetry axis.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the one or more light sources comprise a first set of light sources disposed behind the vertical half-cylinder formation and obscured from the view of an operator sitting in the operator chair.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the first set of light sources comprises a light source disposed behind each of the individual displays of the display arrangement. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the one or more light sources comprise a second set of light sources disposed at the edge of at least one display of the display arrangement.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the remote operation centre comprises at least one wall disposed behind the display arrangement, and the one or more light sources comprise a third set of light sources attached to the wall. The wall according to this embodiment may be a wall of a room where the remote operation centre is located. Alternatively, the remote operation centre may include a room which encloses e.g. the display arrangement and the operator's chair.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel from one or more sensors aboard the vessel.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is also configured to retrieve information indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel over the World Wide Web from a weather service. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel that is provided on at least one display includes a video feed from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to control the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre. In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre based on the received signals and the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to: gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the current weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel; and gradually increase or decrease the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the lighting in the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, one or more light sources comprise Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) .
In one embodiment of the remote operation centre, the driving circuit is configured to adjust at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources based on predefined operator preferences. This is an additional adjustment that may correspond, for example, to user preference regarding changes in intensity of lights and brightness of the displays .
According to a second aspect, a method for illuminating a remote operation centre for monitoring a vessel is disclosed. The method comprises receiving signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of a vessel and a video feed from at least one camera aboard the vessel. The method further comprises controlling at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre based at least on the received signals. The method also comprises displaying the received video feed on at least one display of a display arrangement of the remote operation centre.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of a remote operation centre (ROC) and together with the description help to explain the principles thereof. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is an axonometric view of the remote operation centre according to one embodiment of the disclosure,
FIG. 2 is a top view of the remote operation centre according to an embodiment,
FIG. 3 is a top view of the remote operation centre in a room according to an embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic of the remote operation centre according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, apparatuses are shown in block diagram form only in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure .
Reference in this specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.
Moreover, although the following description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to said details are within the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, although many of the features of the present disclosure are described in terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this description of the present disclosure is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the present disclosure.
FIGS. 1 to 4 show a remote operation centre 1 for remote monitoring of vessels (not shown) . For the purpose of the present disclosure, the vessel, as defined herein, may generally include a marine vessel (e.g. ship or submarine) . However, in other cases, the vessel may be an aircraft (airplane or spaceship) , a land-based vehicle (e.g. car or tank) or any other type of vessel configured to move by a propulsion source. The vessel may be an unmanned marine vessel, i.e. the vessel may be autonomous or have an auto¬ pilot feature. It may be understood that the remote operation centre 1 is located remotely to the vessel on a shore or the like, sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles away. In other examples, the remote operation centre 1 may be located on a deck or some other location in the vessel itself without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The vessel may comprise a sensing arrangement associated therewith. In particular, the sensing arrangement is associated with the one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel. The sensing arrangement can comprise one or more sensors to detect weather conditions, illumination levels on a real-time basis. The sensing arrangement can further comprise one or more video cameras that capture a video feed on a real-time basis. The sensing arrangement is configured to generate a signal indicative of some parameters of its surroundings such as daylight cycle, current illumination levels, weather conditions and others. In an example, an additional signal indicative of the weather and e.g. time of day at the location of the vessel may be generated externally, for example from satellite imagery or other weather and/or navigation services. The functioning of sensors, in the sensing arrangement, for determining parameters of the surroundings of the vessel, like the weather and illumination, is well known, and thus has not been described herein for the brevity of the disclosure.
The vessel may also comprise a transmission unit associated with the sensing arrangement. The transmission unit is configured to transmit, on a real-time basis, the generated signals to the remote operation centre 1. The transmission unit is configured to transmit the signals to the remote operation centre 1 via multi-mode wireless communication means, such as the use of satellites providing wireless channels implementing communication standards like GPRS, CDMA, 3G, 4G, to ensure the timeliness and reliability of data transmission.
In the illustrated embodiment, the remote operation centre 1 is designed in consideration of one operator. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the remote operation centre 1 comprises a display arrangement 4 including a plurality of displays. In an embodiment, the arrangement 4 only includes one display. The remote operation centre 1 further comprises at least one light source 2, 3 schematically illustrated with light bulbs, and an operator chair 5. The operator chair 5 can be fixed to the floor. The operator chair 5 may be arranged to face towards the display arrangement 4. In one example, the display arrangement 4 may be configured as a vertical half-cylinder formation to provide a 180-degrees panoramic view for the operator sitting in the operator chair 5. As Fig. 3 illustrates, the view may be even wider and not limited to 180-degrees. The display arrangement 4 may comprise a plurality of flat or curved displays arranged in the half-cylinder formation. The operator chair 5 may be arranged symmetrically in relation to a vertical symmetry axis A of the display arrangement 4, i.e. the centre of the radius of the half-cylinder formation of the main display arrangement 4 lies on the symmetry axis A.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the remote operation centre 1 comprises one or more light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30. In one embodiment, the one or more light sources comprise a first set of light sources (generally labelled as 2) . The first set 2 is disposed behind the display arrangement 4 and obscured from the view of an operator sitting in the operator chair 5. This can provide ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1 without interfering with the visual perception of the displays 4.
Fig. 3 shows an embodiment of a set of light sources 30 where a light source is positioned behind each individual display. This allows bringing the attention of the operator to that display.
A second possible set of light sources (generally labelled as 3) may be disposed in a space between the operator chair 5 and the display arrangement 4. Alternatively the lights 3 may be positioned above both in form of an indirect light panel that can provide filtered light. Different sets of light sources may be used to simulate different parameters of the surroundings of the vessel. The set of sources 3 may contribute to direct ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1.
A third set of light sources 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2, and includes light sources attached to edges of the displays of the display arrangement 4. This adds to the variety of the ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1.
Fig. 3 shows the remote operation centre 1 to include a room with four walls 6. Alternatively the remote operation centre 1 may comprise only one wall 6 behind the display arrangement 4. A fourth set of light sources 21 for ambient light is illustrated on Fig. 3 as light sources attached to one of the walls 6.
The remote operation centre 1 further comprises a driving circuit configured to control the light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30. The driving circuit is not shown on Figs. 1-3 and may be in connection with the one or more light sources. The driving circuit may be electrically coupled with each of the light sources. The driver circuit may also regulate the power supplied to the individual light sources. The driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel. These signals may be received, for example, from sensing arrangement on the vessel. The driving circuit is further configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources 2, 3, 20, 21, 30 to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 based at least on the received signals. This creates am ambient environment in the remote operation centre 1 that simulates or corresponds to the surroundings of the vessel .
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary schematic of the remote operation centre 1. As illustrated, the driver circuit 8, in one example, may comprise a receiver 81 configured to receive the generated signals, namely, the signals indicating parameters of the surroundings of the vessel. The receiver 81 may be in signal communication with the transmission unit in the vessel to receive the signals via one or more standard communication channels as discussed above. The receiver may further be configured to decode signals from other transmitters sending out weather or navigation related signals on a real-time basis. In other examples, the receiver 81 may be a standalone component, and not a part of the driving circuit 8 but in connection therewith. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the driving circuit 8 is configured to control the one or more light sources 2, 3 individually or in groups. The driving circuit controls at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of the light sources 2, 3 to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 based at least on the received signals.
For this purpose, the driving circuit 8 may include a processor 82, and at least one memory for example, a memory 83. The memory 83 is capable of storing machine executable instructions, and the processor 82 is capable of executing the stored machine executable instructions. The memory 83 may be embodied as one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and/or a combination of one or more volatile memory devices and non-volatile memory devices. The processor 82 may be embodied in a number of different ways. In an embodiment, the processor 82 may be embodied as one or more of various processing devices, such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP) , processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , a microcontroller unit (MCU) , a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. In an example embodiment, the processor 82 is an Arduino based or a similar processing unit. In at least one example embodiment, the processor 82 utilizes computer program code perform one or more actions responsible for controlling the one or more light sources 2,3.
In an embodiment, the driving circuit 8 is configured to gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources 2,3 to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre 1 to the current weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel. Further, for simulating the current weather conditions and/or illumination levels at the location of the vessel, the driving circuit 8 is configured to selectively change one of intensity, colour and temperature of the light sources and brightness of the displays 4. This is achieved by measuring a current illumination state of the remote operation centre 1 by suitable instruments and adjusting the lower level of the brightness of the displays of the display arrangement 4 to be comfortable in the current illumination state. Thereby, the brightness of the displays can automatically adapt to the general ambient lighting of the remote operation centre 1. It may be understood that this is done so that the difference in brightness of the displays 4 and intensity of ambient light does not pose a distraction to the operator for focusing on the display arrangement 4, while still being able to sub¬ consciously convey the desired information to the operator related to surroundings of the vessel.
In one or more examples, the driving circuit 8 is configured to adjust at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources based on predefined operator preferences. For example, the present system may include means to identify different operators, such as by the current logged-in profile of the operator, or by using techniques, such as facial or voice recognition, etc. Further, the present system may build a library of operator preferences, such as the preferred mode (e.g., switching ON/OFF, colour control, brightness control, etc.) for simulating the surroundings of the vessel and store such preferences in a memory. As the current operator is identified, the present system may load these operator preferences and configure the driver circuit 8 to use the defined modes for simulating the weather and illumination conditions of the vessel.
The remote operation centre 1 of the present disclosure can simulate weather conditions and daylight at the location of the vessel in order to provide the operator with a deeper and more immersive experience and provide the operator with a sense of being at a navigation bridge of the vessel. The remote operation centre 1 creates an effect of presence and provides information that can be perceived subconsciously without distracting the operator from controlling or monitoring the vessel. Therefore, the present disclosure provides an operator sitting on the operator chair 5 in the remote operation centre 1 with substantially realistic experience as if the operator is on-board the vessel. The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present disclosure and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present disclosure and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages.
It will be understood that the above description is given by way of example only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments. Although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this specification .
Thus, although the disclosure has been the described in conjunction with a certain type of the remote operation centre, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited to any certain type. While the present disclosures have been described in connection with a number of exemplary embodiments, and implementations, the present disclosures are not so limited, but rather cover various modifications, and equivalent arrangements, which fall within the purview of prospective claims.

Claims

1. A remote operation centre (1) for monitoring a vessel, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the remote operation centre comprises:
a display arrangement (4) comprising at least one display configured to provide a visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel;
one or more light sources (2, 3) disposed inside the remote operation centre (1); and
a driving circuit (8) configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel, and to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources (2, 3) to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre (1) based at least on the received signals.
2. The remote operation centre according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel include weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel .
3. The remote operation centre according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create an ambient light that corresponds to at least one of the weather and illumination at the location of the vessel.
4. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 3, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the remote operation centre comprises an operator chair fixed to the floor, the operator chair being positioned lying on a symmetry axis therein.
5. The remote operation centre according to claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the display arrangement is arranged as a vertical half-cylinder formation to provide a 180-degrees panoramic view for an operator sitting in the operator chair in relation to the symmetry axis.
6. The remote operation centre according to claim 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the one or more light sources comprise a first set of light sources disposed behind the vertical half-cylinder formation and obscured from the view of an operator sitting in the operator chair.
7. The remote operation centre according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the first set of light sources comprises a light source disposed behind each of the individual displays of the display arrangement.
8. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 5 to 7, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the one or more light sources comprise a second set of light sources disposed at the edge of at least one display of the display arrangement.
9. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the remote operation centre comprises at least one wall disposed behind the display arrangement, and the one or more light sources comprise a third set of light sources attached to the wall.
10. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to receive signals indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel from one or more sensors aboard the vessel.
11. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 9, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is also configured to retrieve information indicative of one or more parameters of the surroundings of the vessel over the World Wide Web from a weather service.
12. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 11, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that visual representation of the surroundings of the vessel includes a video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
13. The remote operation centre according to claim 12, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to control the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre.
14. The remote operation centre according to claim 12, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to control at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to create ambient lighting in the remote operation centre based on the received signals and the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
15. The remote operation centre according to claim 13, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to:
gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the current weather conditions and illumination at the location of the vessel; and
gradually increase or decrease the brightness levels and colour palette of at least one display of the display arrangement to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre.
16. The remote operation centre according to claim 14, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to gradually increase or decrease one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources to match the ambient lighting in the remote operation centre to the lighting in the video feed received from one or more cameras aboard the vessel.
17. The remote operation centre according to any of claims 1 to 16, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the one or more light sources comprise Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) .
18. The remote operation centre according to any one of claims 1 to 17, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the driving circuit is configured to adjust at least one of intensity, colour and temperature of one or more light sources based on predefined operator preferences .
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