Reasons and Motivation

Automating as many processes as possible that were previously carried out by the crew is seen as a forward-looking approach to addressing the shortage of skilled workers and strengthening the competitiveness of inland waterway transport. As with other modes of transportation, this raises questions regarding the legal framework and ensuring safety.

Challenges

It is expected that the introduction of autonomous navigation will take place gradually and over an extended period of time. Initially, human navigation will continue to be required—at least intermittently and in specific contexts—even during normal operations, and will also serve to a large extent as a fallback mechanism.

Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume that, even in the long term, there will be mixed traffic in which conventionally operated vessels will interact with systems featuring varying levels of autonomy. These diverse scenarios, the resulting high complexity of the issues to be addressed, and the fact that technical development is not yet complete create the need to support future development with guidelines that are as broadly applicable and generic as possible. Their overarching goal should be to enable the introduction of new technologies—which have not yet been fully developed—while ensuring the current level of safety. To this end, suitable methods, procedures, and regulatory frameworks must be identified.

Project Objectives

Against the backdrop of the challenges outlined above, the main objective of the SAFEBin project is to develop proposals for adapting the regulatory framework to ensure the safe operation of remotely controlled or automated inland waterway vessels. The risks associated with increasing levels of automation in inland waterway shipping will be identified and assessed. In doing so, approaches and methods for risk assessment, evaluation, and management will be developed, and proposals for adapting and further developing rules and regulations will be formulated.

This is being done deliberately in anticipation of future technical developments in the field of automated inland waterway shipping. Thus, the aim is not only to create a framework for establishing technical rules for safe operation; this framework is also intended to provide incentives and planning certainty for the commercial development of technical systems. SAFEBin therefore constitutes a crucial building block in the overall context of automated navigation, without which practical implementation would not be possible.

Achieving these goals requires a detailed and nuanced approach to a wide range of issues, as well as collaboration with qualified partners, such as GDWS, ZKR, and CESNI.

Methodology

First, the fundamentals for risk assessment of automated vessel navigation systems on inland waterway vessels will be developed. This will be based on a detailed assessment and analysis of the current safety level, which will serve as a frame of reference. Furthermore, relevant methods for risk assessment and the demonstration of functional safety for (partially) automated vessel navigation in inland waterway shipping will be utilized, and proven methods will be adapted and applied as examples. At the same time, the foundations for a proactive, automated assessment of situational risk will be established. Finally, proposals for the adaptation and further development of rules and regulations in automated inland waterway shipping are formulated.

Preliminary Results

To develop automated navigation, the tasks performed by onboard personnel must first be identified so that they can subsequently be taken over by safer and more reliable systems. To this end, onboard tasks were examined, categorized, and analyzed in relation to existing regulations.

Furthermore, the German and European Inland Waterways Regulations (BinSchStrO and CEVNI) were analyzed in light of the project’s objectives. In doing so, barriers related to the various levels of automation, as defined by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (ZKR), were taken into account.

To assess the current safety level in inland waterway shipping and identify critical operational scenarios, project-relevant accident data from inland waterway shipping was analyzed and evaluated. Selected accident data from other modes of transport was also analyzed and evaluated as part of analogical assessments.

Furthermore, the takeover of an automated vessel by ship’s crew was examined as a fallback measure in the event of a functional failure. By analyzing test subject studies conducted on the SANDRA II simulator, a new approach to measuring takeover times was applied. Additionally, functional degradation was examined as a measure to safeguard automated operation.

Outlook

In the next steps, we will first examine and adapt proven methods for risk assessment and the demonstration of functional safety for (partially) automated vessel navigation in inland waterway transport to determine their suitability, and we will formulate new methods and apply them in example scenarios. Furthermore, the foundations will be laid for a fault-tolerant design of the overall system that incorporates automation functions, as well as for a proactive, automated assessment of situational risk. Finally, standards and recommendations for adapting and further developing rules and regulations in automated inland waterway shipping will be developed.

Participating Partners:

• DST – Development Center for Marine Technology and Transport Systems e.V. (Coordination)
• RWTH Aachen: IRT – Institute for Control Engineering
• University of Duisburg-Essen:
  • ISMT – Institute for Marine Technology, Ocean Engineering & Transport Systems
  • IMECH – Chair of Mechatronics
  • SRS – Chair of Control, Regulation, and System Dynamics

Duration:

November 2022 to January 2025

Funding Program:

Funding Guidelines for Research and Development of Digital Test Beds on Federal Waterways (DTW II)