The Alan Turing Institute, Lloyd’s Register (LR), and Lloyd’s Register Foundation are to work together on research into the safe adoption of autonomous maritime technology, with the aim of creating an open-source systems engineering framework to define development activities for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).
The research will cover the full lifecycle of autonomous systems, including design definition, architecture analysis, machine learning DevOps, and testing. This framework is intended to support developers, manufacturers, and operators in providing assurance that autonomous systems meet safety and security requirements.
The partners note that, while the emerging International Maritime Organization (IMO) MASS Code will provide the context for applying autonomy at sea, there is still a need for more detailed guidance regarding software applications and engineering processes.
This will also include maximising the potential of Autonomous Navigation Systems (ANS) to optimise fuel efficiency through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven route planning while improving safety through accident prevention systems.
“The Turing’s strong expertise in AI and policy allows us to provide an architecture for the design of autonomous systems,” said Dr Chris Nathan, Policy Fellow for the Sustainability Mission at the Alan Turing Institute.
“There’s huge potential for improvements in sustainability, but this depends on the development of strong and robust standards that ensure security and safety.”
The findings from the project will inform a ShipRight procedure, which will provide guidance on system design and software principles to ensure MASS and ANS remain safe and compliant at every stage.
“Lloyd’s Register is committed to developing standards that enable the collaborative development of MASS systems across maritime stakeholders including shipyards, system integrators, equipment manufacturers, software providers and start-up companies,” said Joseph Morelos, Complex and Autonomy Systems Leader at Lloyd’s Register.
“The system engineering standard helps implement the IMO MASS Code, enabling safe, secure and commercially viable deployment of MASS technologies across vessel types.”
Currently, the researchers are engaging with developers of MASS and ANS to identify their development and collaboration needs to establish the end-to-end systems engineering framework.
