Design of an operation control and remote monitoring system of small unmanned ship for close-range observations

A small-unmanned observation ship (UOV) that automatically surveys various information of ocean environment in the close range around the large mother ship, has been designed. Two main support systems are needed to perform the observation in the unmanned ship. Firstly, the unmanned automatic operation system that follows a planned route and avoids obstacles is needed. Secondly, the remote monitoring system that acquires the ocean information and sends it to the station is also essential. In this study, we design the two support systems as follows. Firstly, for the unmanned automatic operation system, we develop an autopilot algorithm using DGPS and a fuzzy algorithm to calculate the collision risk with obstacles in real-time on a basis of radar and AIS. Secondly, we design a data acquisition and monitoring system that is in three-step communication type, that is, wireless LAN network, UHF/VHF communication and satellite communication. Therefore, we can design more stable monitoring system in network. To evaluate the developed algorithms for our UOV, we conducted several simulations and model tests in a lake. In this paper, we describe the main features of our UOV and discuss about the results of simulations and model tests.