SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF OPERATORS OF COASTAL CONTROL CENTRES AS A BASIC PREREQUISITE FOR THE SAFE OPERATION OF AUTONOMOUS UNMANNED VESSELS

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the situational awareness of operators of coastal control centres for the safe operation of unmanned autonomous vessels. This goal is achieved by analysing the main solutions aimed at expanding the area of unmanned navigation of autonomous unmanned vessels. A detailed analysis of the MUNIN project for an autonomous unmanned transoceanic voyage on a large dry cargo ship has shown that only the transoceanic segment has autonomous unmanned control. The scheme of organising the management of an unmanned vessel and the peculiarities of its management in the areas of entry (exit) to (from) the port(s) are investigated. The leading role of information and telecommunication technologies for the transfer of information on board ships, between ships and between ships and coastal services is emphasised. Rational speeds for crewless ships to reduce exhaust gas emissions are proposed. The features of unmanned and autonomous vessels are identified and compared. The leading role of the human factor in the system "unmanned vessel-operator-environment" is emphasised, which affects the achievement of the main goal of the vessel's mission. The necessity of maintaining a high level of situational awareness when transferring the human factor from ship to shore in dynamic unmanned systems and a deeper consideration of the human factor is proved. It has been found that the volume and period of updating the incoming information to the shore-based control centre is one of the key factors in terms of situational awareness of the operator who controls an unmanned vessel. The principles of grouping the information received by the vessel and ensuring the remote operator's situational awareness are proposed. The most significant result of the study is a critical analysis of the subject area and proof of the important role of humans in the safe operation of unmanned vessels, possible mistakes that an operator may make, and ways to overcome them. The future direction of the work is to conduct research to establish the peculiarities of managing an unmanned vessel when using e-navigation.