DESIGN AND PROTOTYPING OF WEB-BASED SUPPORT FOR SHIP-HANDLING SYSTEM VIA MOBILE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Now, in Japan, the coastal shipping industry has problems reducing the seafarers and aging. The closed sea areas in central bays and ports in Japan are navigated by many ships. In these waters, an inexperienced ship operator may make a mistake in judgment due to extreme tension, which may cause a marine accident. The authors made a prototype to provide ship operators on board with maneuvering assistance from shore to solve the problems. We developed a prototype by using wireless and mobile communication, VPN, and web browser. We conducted an actual ship experiment in the natural sea as a verification, discussing its effectiveness. It was shown that maneuvering about the same level as onboard as possible. As a result, it was confirmed that this method could be effective by future improvements.