Rules of the Road for Unmanned Marine Vehicles 23.7 Conclusion 525
Part B | 23.7
the evolution of these guidelines with the objective of
establishing common operational and interface standards. These are currently all in a state of ongoing
development, but it is likely that the community will
eventually come to recognize these as the accepted standards with regards to safe and compliant (COLREGS)
operation of UMVs in public water space. The specific
subcommittee responsible for the Maritime Regulations
(F41.05) originally set out to establish self-regulating
COLREGS compliance through these standards. Of
late, this subcommittee is reaching out to the NAVSAC
Working Group through the AUVSI community and
participates in the ongoing dialog with the US Coast
Guard, as described previously.
23.6 The Road Ahead
The rules of the road might evolve so as to include
a provision for autonomous or unmanned operation in
much the same way that there exists a provision for fishing vessels, vessels restricted in their ability to maneuver, draft restrictions, and so on. Provided with a legal
designation as such, autonomous marine vehicles could
then be afforded a safe operations entitlement, lifting
the burden of full COLREGS compliance and designated via a unique AIS code, day shape, etc. This might
be provided in the form of a proximity buffer (consider
the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane on highways,
for example) to be observed by other vessels, or simply as an authorization to relax the vigilant lookout
requirement. This would be a step in the direction of
integrating UMVs into the world of human-operated
vessels in public waterways.
Alternately, UMV developers might produce
a backseat driver as an interim solution. This embedded autonomy device would employ all of the sensor
fusion techniques previously mentioned and deliver
driving guidance to a human operator, who would
retain manual control of the helm and take full legal
responsibility for the safe operation of the vessel. This
backseat driver would provide a service to skilled
marine operators, acting as a lookout and navigator,
sounding alarms when collisions appear imminent and
advising maneuvering decisions based on optimal travel
paths in compliance with COLREGS. This scenario
describes a glorified autopilot capability with enhanced perception capabilities and advanced behavior
capability tuned for balancing multiple objectives.
No doubt scientists, engineers, and policy makers
will continue to upgrade and refine the capabilities and
the requirements placed upon unmanned vehicles that
operate in public water space. Using advanced sensors
and autonomous control, maritime robots may someday
evolve into machines with super-human-like behavior
that perform better than humans in noisy stressful environments where flawed perception and emotional irrationality erode the performance of mortals. When that
happens, the rules of the road may need to be modified
so as to designate manned vessels as those restricted
in their ability to maneuver, requiring them to maintain
a buffer zone for safe operation in the proximity of the
more predictable and reliable unmanned vessels. The
road ahead may indeed see the tables turned.
23.7 Conclusion
Improved system performance suggests that UMVs are
here to stay and will be providing a wide array of valuable services in the marine environment for years to
come. Along with the benefits afforded by these platforms, we should expect increasing interaction between
manned and unmanned vessels and a need for clearly
defined laws, policies, and procedures for safe and reliable operation of UMVs in public waterways.
In a semi-hybrid fashion, robotic autopilot assistance is creeping into how we operate aircraft, automobiles, and boats today. In cars, we now have braking
assistance that prevents collision and steering assistance that maintains the vehicle track on the roadway
and aids in parking. In aircraft and boats, we have autopilots that can follow prescribed waypoints to safely
transit a craft over great distances. Autopilots coupled
with obstacle avoidance need only an embedded autonomy engine with COLREGS compliant behaviors and
a human helmsman will become a passive observer, albeit the legally responsible observer, but an observer
and passenger, nonetheless. The rapid evolution of the
technology and the legal framework associated with
acceptance of unmanned cars and unmanned aerial vehicles provide precedents for the likely trajectory for
unmanned marine vehicles.
It is conceivable that at some point in the near future, two unmanned marine vehicles will encounter one
another in a potential collision situation. Or perhaps,
Part B | 23.7
the evolution of these guidelines with the objective of
establishing common operational and interface standards. These are currently all in a state of ongoing
development, but it is likely that the community will
eventually come to recognize these as the accepted standards with regards to safe and compliant (COLREGS)
operation of UMVs in public water space. The specific
subcommittee responsible for the Maritime Regulations
(F41.05) originally set out to establish self-regulating
COLREGS compliance through these standards. Of
late, this subcommittee is reaching out to the NAVSAC
Working Group through the AUVSI community and
participates in the ongoing dialog with the US Coast
Guard, as described previously.
23.6 The Road Ahead
The rules of the road might evolve so as to include
a provision for autonomous or unmanned operation in
much the same way that there exists a provision for fishing vessels, vessels restricted in their ability to maneuver, draft restrictions, and so on. Provided with a legal
designation as such, autonomous marine vehicles could
then be afforded a safe operations entitlement, lifting
the burden of full COLREGS compliance and designated via a unique AIS code, day shape, etc. This might
be provided in the form of a proximity buffer (consider
the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane on highways,
for example) to be observed by other vessels, or simply as an authorization to relax the vigilant lookout
requirement. This would be a step in the direction of
integrating UMVs into the world of human-operated
vessels in public waterways.
Alternately, UMV developers might produce
a backseat driver as an interim solution. This embedded autonomy device would employ all of the sensor
fusion techniques previously mentioned and deliver
driving guidance to a human operator, who would
retain manual control of the helm and take full legal
responsibility for the safe operation of the vessel. This
backseat driver would provide a service to skilled
marine operators, acting as a lookout and navigator,
sounding alarms when collisions appear imminent and
advising maneuvering decisions based on optimal travel
paths in compliance with COLREGS. This scenario
describes a glorified autopilot capability with enhanced perception capabilities and advanced behavior
capability tuned for balancing multiple objectives.
No doubt scientists, engineers, and policy makers
will continue to upgrade and refine the capabilities and
the requirements placed upon unmanned vehicles that
operate in public water space. Using advanced sensors
and autonomous control, maritime robots may someday
evolve into machines with super-human-like behavior
that perform better than humans in noisy stressful environments where flawed perception and emotional irrationality erode the performance of mortals. When that
happens, the rules of the road may need to be modified
so as to designate manned vessels as those restricted
in their ability to maneuver, requiring them to maintain
a buffer zone for safe operation in the proximity of the
more predictable and reliable unmanned vessels. The
road ahead may indeed see the tables turned.
23.7 Conclusion
Improved system performance suggests that UMVs are
here to stay and will be providing a wide array of valuable services in the marine environment for years to
come. Along with the benefits afforded by these platforms, we should expect increasing interaction between
manned and unmanned vessels and a need for clearly
defined laws, policies, and procedures for safe and reliable operation of UMVs in public waterways.
In a semi-hybrid fashion, robotic autopilot assistance is creeping into how we operate aircraft, automobiles, and boats today. In cars, we now have braking
assistance that prevents collision and steering assistance that maintains the vehicle track on the roadway
and aids in parking. In aircraft and boats, we have autopilots that can follow prescribed waypoints to safely
transit a craft over great distances. Autopilots coupled
with obstacle avoidance need only an embedded autonomy engine with COLREGS compliant behaviors and
a human helmsman will become a passive observer, albeit the legally responsible observer, but an observer
and passenger, nonetheless. The rapid evolution of the
technology and the legal framework associated with
acceptance of unmanned cars and unmanned aerial vehicles provide precedents for the likely trajectory for
unmanned marine vehicles.
It is conceivable that at some point in the near future, two unmanned marine vehicles will encounter one
another in a potential collision situation. Or perhaps,