5G MASS

5G Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship

The 5G-assisted Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship (5G MASS) is focusing on the domain of assisted and autonomous shipping in the proximity of seaports. The project will implement a set of functional blocks, shared between the ship and the port digital environment where a prototype of Remote Operation Center is deployed. Thanks to the terrestrial 5G millimetre-wave network, it will be possible to aggregate real-time information shared between the shipboard and the Remote Operation Center with the aim to assist the pilot and the bridge team in the berthing operations.

Objectives of the service

The objective of this service is to provide an impact on digital transformation of ports and maritime industry, to allow an economic growth in these sectors.

Technology is used to improve the performance or reach of organizations, including their management, operations, and assets.

The impact on logistics and port operations will most likely consist of increased efficiency because of assisted manoeuvring, improved planning, and synchronized timing, allowing for increased terminal operator efficiency.

The main advantages include a reduction in fuel consumption, and therefore emissions. Even though safety is currently considered a concern, overcoming the challenges effectively would mean that maritime safety could be improved, as most shipping accidents result from human error, often related to fatigue.

The 5G Mass System will provide to maritime shipping companies, ports and pilots a 5G and satellite-based tool for assisted and autonomous shipping in the proximity of seaports.

Users

  • Port Authority
  • Cargo Shipping Company
  • Port Pilot Corps
  • Coast Guard
  • Remote Operation Center

Their needs

  • Real-time information shared between the shipboard and the port digital for Assisted berthing;
  • Navigational safety while reducing the burden on the navigator master, the pilot, and the ship crew;
  • Real time alert in case of critical events;
  • History information for knowledge;
  • Information exchange and storage must be compliant with international standards;
  • Availability of all information in real-time relying on the complementary capabilities provided by the satellite and terrestrial-5G networks;
  • 5G networks will allow measurements at higher speed, larger traffic capacity and ultra-low-latency;
  • Traffic Control in the port or near-port waters;
  • Time Saving;
  • CO2 Saving with reduction of pollution;
  • Fewer accidents that are caused by human error.
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System Concept

The 5G MASS system consists of interconnected functional blocks described hereby:

  • Ship Side is composed by an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) already available onboard the ship. Thanks to a Multiplexer installed on the ECDIS board different NMEA signals will be sent to a new Vessel Aggregator in the 5G/SatCom Gateway. Furthermore, high definition Lidars and cameras are installed on board sending data to the Vessel Aggregator.
  • SAT COM module. The Ship is equipped with the following radio communication systems: FBB (backup) and VSAT (main). The satellite that will be used for the demonstration campaign is EUTELSAT 33E (through the satellite service operator in partnership with Grimaldi, i.e., Telespazio).
  • Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship Piloting Unit (MASS PU) is composed by the nomadic equipment and the running software to be carried by the pilots. It will be based on COTS with firmware and software development carried on throughout this project.
  • Sea Port Remote Operation Center is structured as a private cloud with full decoupling of the three canonical layers. At the platform layer all information coming from the port infrastructure (most notably meteo, wind, wave, and current) is digitalized.
  • A digital twin of the autonomous vessel is rendered on a Vessel Companion App implemented through a set of microservices on a container-based software methodology.
  • A Path/Track Controller (PTC) is calculating the best path for the vessel on the basis of the information coming from the vessel and port.

Space added value

The proposed system will exploit the following assets:

  • 5G communication networks
  • Localization services

5G networks will bring enhanced connectivity to improve cloud-based positioning applications, faster video buffering and value-added services.

The use of 5G will bring higher speed, larger traffic capacity and ultra-low-latency (or signal delay) communications if compared to other solutions. 5G features could also be adopted for accurate positioning, navigation and timing to align video stream metadata for the same scene as captured from different cameras. These features are of paramount importance for the remotization of the vessel control especially in difficult operations like those of manoeuvring and docking in port waters.

The data from GNSS satellites can be used to improve the estimation of the positions of other ships in the stretch of sea where the operations take place.

In 5G MASS the highly accurate localization of the ship in the port basin will be achieved by aggregating three different sources of information, listed below on the basis of their readiness:

  • GNSS information from GNSS receivers
  • GNSS corrections from the RTK network
  • Corrections calculated by Artificial Intelligence

These elements are part of the so-called 5G MASS localization platform.

Current status

  • 5G MASS Kick off Meeting was held on 15/03/2022
  • 5G MASS Baseline Design Review (BDR) was held on 30/05/2022
  • The project team has also passed the second milestone on 13/12/2022, i.e. the one corresponding to the Critical Design Review (CDR), and a preliminary FAT/SAT on November 23rd , 2023.
  • Currently, the project team is focused on the implementation of the test pilots that will be completed by September 2024.