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Dr. Dimitrios Dalaklis, Professor (Safety and Security)
Brainstorming about the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Applications upon the Shipping Industry
•Introduction (including familiarization with WMU);
•Discussing the framework of “Definitions”;
•Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and
the role of AI in future operations;
•Questions & Answers
Outline
•Maritime Post-Graduate University;
•Focus on Maritime Education, Capacity-
Building & Research.
•Established by the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 1983;
(IMO is the United Nations specialized
agency with responsibility for the safety
and security of shipping and the
prevention of marine and atmospheric
pollution by ships…)
World Maritime University (WMU), in Malmö-Sweden.
Issues to Consider during Introduction:
•Shipping “In the Era of Digitalisation”/possible changes?
•Disruptive trends of Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial
Intelligence (AI) and Big Data (among others ) that look
set to change established practices;
•Drivers like efficiency, regulation and “to keep up with
competition”…
Industry 4.0: A New Operating “Paradigm”?
Favourite Academic Topic: Definitions!
Human Brain vs Artificial Intelligence (AI):
https://www2.deloitte.com/se/sv/pages/technology/articles/part1-artificial-intelligence-defined.html
Points to note:
•MOVING FAST! During the previous stages of
industrial revolution, it has often taken decades to
build the training systems and labour market
institutions needed to develop new skillsets on a
large scale.
•Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from
self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants
and software that translate or help us to invest.
•Microsoft is using AI in its “Bing” search engine…
Microsoft doesn't own ChatGPT, nor the chatbot's founding company OpenAI.
However, the two companies have been partnered commercially since 2016, and
Microsoft continues to be the company's largest investor.
Simplifying Investment Advise:
Influencing Education Choice:
An Indicative Example for Shipping?
•WEATHER ROUTING: Improve operational efficiency
by “optimizing” route and speed profiles for any sea
passage….
•The wider portfolio of “weather routing”, is usually
considering the “right data” about wind, wind waves and
swell, sea currents, water depth, tropical storms, as well
as certain important safety parameters in relation to the
concerned vessel (The app will choose on our behalf...)
Robots and Humanoids (Machines)?
•Remember: It is just a system “behaving similar”
to humans (or in a kind of “predefined manner”?)
Machines?
•Remember: It is just a system “behaving similar”
to humans (or in a kind of “predefined manner”?)
The “New” Shipping Paradigm:
IMO MASS Scale
Adapted from MSC 100/WP.8, IMO (2018).
Future Regulatory Developments?
•The roadmap for a “goal-based” MASS Code has
been developed to be further implemented through
the work plan in the following MSC sessions:
Points to note:
•The shipping industry is following a “risk adverse”
behaviour; it is more likely to follow a step-by-step
pace of change rather than a very abrupt one!
•The regulatory discussion of Maritime Autonomous
Surface Ships (MASS) and the implementation
efforts of the E-Navigation Strategy by the IMO are
two indicative examples that shipping has already
entered the “Era of Digitalization”!
•A certain level of disruption for “Jobs and Skills”!!!
•Applications of “Artificial Intelligence” and “Robotics”
will work together with humans and complement
their efforts (“partners”, not competitors)…
Autonomous Vessels and AI?
•AI can be defined as the simulation of human
intelligence processes by machines, especially
computer systems.
•Indicative examples of AI include expert systems,
natural language processing, speech recognition and
machine vision.
•Today, it is clear that the hardware element of sensors
on board contemporary ships has already “exhausted”
the room of further improvement; the use of advanced
software applications and utilisation of AI tools to
improve more the capabilities of the various systems
used to support the conduct of navigation seems can be
viewed as the best alternative way forward.
Autonomous Vessels and AI?
•AI tools can pave the way towards autonomous
systems and eventually to unmanned ships.
•In the not so distant future, “humans” and “machines”
will effectively collaborate together in the same working
environment…
•Image and/or Speech Recognition applications are
looking today as the most promising solutions; at the
same time, there still challenges that must be resolved!
“Real” Autonomous Vessels?
•Systems that will be able to make decisions by
“themselves”, requiring no human input.
•A very important example of this new/different operating
paradigm is “Image Recognition” (including optimization
of video processing); this way, existing sensors (such
as Radars/EOs or Sonars) will become “eyes and ears”!
•Building, improving and running AI applications requires
immense computing power; a Cloud-based architecture
offers that in a flexible and scalable environment (at
relatively low-cost and without huge initial investments).
•Big data is a prerequisite for AI and AI is the solution to
process unstructured data and derive insights from it.
•What is the expected timeframe for “Autonomy”?
•Why is the Shipping Industry hesitant towards AI?
Indicative Topics for Further Discussion: