Navigation assistance system, navigation assistance device, navigation assistance method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a navigation assistance system capable of easily assisting a ship from the outside. A sailing assistance system includes a sailing assistance device mounted on a ship and a remote monitoring device provided outside the ship, the sailing assistance device including: an acquisition unit that acquires sailing-related data relating to sailing of the ship; a calculation unit that calculates, on the basis of the navigation-related data, a required assistance degree indicating the degree to which the ship requires assistance from the outside; and a transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship, and the remote monitoring device has a reception unit that receives the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a navigation assistance system, a navigation assistance device, a navigation assistance method, and a program. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a navigation intention communication assistance device between ships, which enables a own ship and an opposing ship meeting at sea to indicate a ship handling intention for collision avoidance.

[0003] Prior Art Documents

[0004] Patent Documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-037252 Summary of the Invention

[0006] Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] In recent years, technologies for unmanned ships such as remotely assisted manned autonomous ships have been continuously studied.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its main object is to provide a navigation assistance system, a navigation assistance device, a navigation assistance method, and a program that can easily assist the navigation of a ship from the outside.

[0009] Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] To solve the above problems, a navigation assistance system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a navigation assistance device mounted on a ship and a remote monitoring device provided outside the ship. The navigation assistance device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of the ship; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and a transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship. The remote monitoring device includes: a reception unit that receives the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device. Thereby, it is possible to easily assist the ship from the outside.

[0011] In the above aspect, the transmission unit of the navigation assistance device further transmits the navigation-related data at a predetermined frequency. Thereby, it is possible to share the navigation-related data.

[0012] In the above aspect, the remote monitoring device may further include: a display unit that displays the navigation-related data transmitted by the navigation assistance device; a generation unit that generates assistance data for assisting the navigation of the ship based on a user's operation input; and a transmission unit that transmits the assistance data to the navigation assistance device. Thereby, it is possible to provide assistance data to the ship.

[0013] In the above-described manner, the transmitting unit of the navigation assistance device changes the frequency of transmitting the navigation-related data according to the degree of assistance required. Thus, it is possible to transmit the navigation-related data at a frequency corresponding to the degree of assistance required.

[0014] In the above-described manner, if communication at a speed greater than or equal to a specified speed has been established between the navigation assistance device and the remote monitoring device, the transmitting unit of the navigation assistance device transmits the navigation-related data that has not been transmitted in the past to the remote monitoring device. Thus, it is also possible to share the navigation-related data that has not been transmitted in the past.

[0015] In the above-described manner, the remote monitoring device may further include: a calculation unit that calculates the relative degree of assistance required for a plurality of ships based on the navigation-related data transmitted from the plurality of ships. Thus, it is possible to calculate the relative degree of assistance required.

[0016] In the above-described manner, the remote monitoring device may further include: a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of ships of the relative degree of assistance required. Thus, it is possible to notify the relative degree of assistance required.

[0017] In the above-described manner, the remote monitoring device further includes a display unit that displays the identification of the ship, and the display unit may change at least one of the display mode and the selection state of the identification according to the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device. Thus, it is possible to implement the display of the identification corresponding to the degree of assistance required.

[0018] In addition, a navigation assistance device according to another aspect of the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and a transmitting unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship. Thus, it is possible to easily assist the ship from the outside.

[0019] In addition, a navigation assistance method according to another aspect of the present invention acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship, calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data, and transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship. Thus, it is possible to easily assist the ship from the outside.

[0020] In addition, a program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquiring navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship, calculating a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data, and transmitting the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship. Thus, it is possible to easily assist the ship from the outside. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of a navigation assistance system.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing an example of an on-board system.

[0023] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing an example of a remote monitoring device.

[0024] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing a display example of a monitoring screen.

[0025] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing another display example of a monitoring screen.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a diagram showing a structural example of a ship information sharing device.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining the calculation of the degree of assistance required.

[0028] Figure 8 This is a diagram for explaining lookout ability data.

[0029] Figure 9 This is a diagram showing a structural example of a remote monitoring device.

[0030] Figure 10 This is a diagram showing an example of the sequence of a navigation assistance method.

[0031] Figure 11 This is a diagram for explaining the change of the transmission frequency.

[0032] Figure 12 This is a diagram for explaining the transmission of untransmitted data.

[0033] Figure 13 This is a diagram showing a structural example of a remote monitoring device.

[0034] Figure 14 This is a diagram showing an example of the sequence of a navigation assistance method. Detailed implementation manners

[0035] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a diagram showing an example of the navigation assistance system 100. This diagram schematically shows a plurality of ships S sailing on the sea and a land-based center T. The navigation assistance system 100 includes an on-board system 10 mounted on the ship S and a remote monitoring device 3 provided at the land-based center T.

[0037] The on-ship system 10 and the remote monitoring device 3 can communicate with each other, for example, via satellite communication. Not limited to satellite communication, wireless communication using, for example, extremely high frequency, ultra-high frequency, short wave, medium short wave, or medium wave can also be adopted.

[0038] The on-ship system 10 sequentially transmits navigation-related data related to the navigation of the ship S to the remote monitoring device 3. The remote monitoring device 3 collects the navigation-related data transmitted from the on-ship system 10 and uses it for the monitoring and assistance of the ship S.

[0039] The ship S is, for example, a crew-saving ship such as a manned autonomous ship. Therefore, the ship S sometimes requires assistance from the outside. The crew-saving of a ship means that the number of crew members is smaller compared to the normal number of crew members of a ship of the same scale. In addition, the ship S may not be an autonomous ship.

[0040] The land-based center T is equipped with a land-based captain C. The land-based captain C is, for example, a captain or a land-based auxiliary personnel with the same qualifications or skills. The land-based captain C uses the remote monitoring device 3 to monitor and assist the ship S.

[0041] By introducing the navigation assistance system 100, it is possible to achieve the crew-saving of the ship S while ensuring safety. That is, by receiving assistance from the land-based captain C, even an inexperienced sailor can navigate the ship S like a senior captain.

[0042] Figure 2 It is a block diagram showing a structural example of the on-ship system 10. The on-ship system 10 is a system mounted on the ship S. In the following description, for the on-ship system 10, the ship on which this system is mounted is called the "own ship", and other ships are called "other ships".

[0043] The on-ship system 10 includes a ship information sharing device 2, a radar 41, an AIS 42, a camera 43, a GNSS receiver 44, a gyroscope 45, an ECDIS 46, a wireless communication unit 5, sensors 6, and a ship control unit 7. These devices are connected to a network N such as a LAN (Local Area Network), for example, and can communicate with each other via the network.

[0044] The ship information sharing device 2 is a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a non-volatile memory, and an input / output interface, etc. The CPU of the ship information sharing device 2 executes information processing according to a program loaded from the ROM or the non-volatile memory to the RAM.

[0045] The program can be provided either via an information storage medium such as an optical disc or a memory card, or via a communication network such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0046] The radar 41 emits radio waves around the own ship and receives the reflected waves, and generates echo data based on the received signals. In addition, the radar 41 identifies targets based on the echo data and generates TT data (Target Tracking Data: target tracking data) indicating the positions and speeds of the targets.

[0047] The AIS (Automatic Identification System) 42 receives AIS data from other ships or land control stations existing around the own ship. Not limited to AIS, VDES (VHF data Exchange System) can also be used. The AIS data includes the identification codes, ship names, positions, headings, ship speeds, ship types, hull lengths, and destinations of other ships, etc.

[0048] The camera 43 is a digital camera that generates image data by photographing the outside from the own ship. The camera 43 is installed, for example, on the bridge of the own ship facing the bow direction. The camera 43 is a so-called PTZ camera having, for example, a pan / tilt function and an optical zoom function.

[0049] In addition, the camera 43 may include an image recognition unit that estimates the in-image positions and categories of targets such as ships included in the photographed image through an object detection model. The image recognition unit is not limited to the camera 43 and can also be implemented by other devices such as the ship information sharing device 2.

[0050] The GNSS receiver 44 detects the position of the own ship based on the radio waves received from the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The gyroscope 45 detects the bow direction of the own ship. Not limited to the gyroscope, a GPS compass can also be used.

[0051] The ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems) 8 obtains the position of the own ship from the GNSS receiver 44 and displays it on the electronic chart. In addition, the ECDIS 46 also displays the planned route of the own ship on the electronic chart. Not limited to the ECDIS, a GNSS plotter can also be used.

[0052] The wireless communication unit 5 includes wireless devices that implement satellite communication. Additionally, the wireless communication unit 5 also includes wireless devices that implement wireless communication using, for example, extremely high frequency, ultra-high frequency, short wave, medium short wave, or medium wave. The wireless communication unit 5 has a wireless telephone 52 that enables communication between ships.

[0053] The sensors 6 include, for example, a gyro sensor that detects the posture of the ship itself. Additionally, the sensors 6 also include various sensors that detect the status of equipment such as the ship's engine.

[0054] The ship control unit 7 is a control device for autonomous navigation that controls the ship's steering gear. In addition to controlling the ship's steering gear, the ship control unit 7 can also control the ship's engine.

[0055] In this embodiment, the ship information sharing device 2 is an independent device, but it is not limited to this and can also be integrated with other devices such as the ECDIS 46. That is, the functional units of the ship information sharing device 2 can also be implemented by other devices.

[0056] Figure 3 It is a block diagram showing a structural example of the remote monitoring device 3. The remote monitoring device 3 is also a computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, non-volatile memory, and input / output interfaces. A plurality of terminals 9 are connected to the remote monitoring device 3, and some or all of the terminals 9 are used by the onshore captain C.

[0057] Figure 4 and Figure 5 It is a diagram showing a display example of the monitoring screen displayed on the terminal 9. Figure 4 The monitoring screen MG (Motion Graphics) shown is an electronic nautical chart that maps, for example, a plurality of identifiers SY representing a plurality of ships S to positions within the image corresponding to the actual positions.

[0058] Figure 5 The monitoring screen PG shown is a magnified view of the area including the identifier SS representing the monitored ship and the identifier OS representing other ships existing around it. Additionally, on the monitoring screen PG, a planned route SR along which the monitored ship is scheduled to sail is depicted.

[0059] Furthermore, on the monitoring screen PG, an avoidance advice route PR input by the onshore captain C to the terminal 9 is also depicted. The data of the avoidance advice route PR is sent as auxiliary data to the monitored ship and is, for example, displayed on a display device inside the ship.

[0060] However, in the navigation assistance system 100, although it is desirable for the onshore captain C to use the remote monitoring device 3 to monitor a plurality of ships S, there is a problem that it is difficult to know which ship S needs assistance.

[0061] Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described below, by defining the degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship S needs assistance from the outside, navigation assistance is made easier.

[0062] Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described. Figure 6 It is a block diagram showing a structural example of the ship information sharing device 2. In the first embodiment, the ship information sharing device 2 is an example of a navigation assistance device that calculates the degree of assistance required.

[0063] The control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 includes a data acquisition unit 21, a degree-of-assistance-required calculation unit 22, and a transmission unit 23. These functional units are implemented by the CPU of the control unit 20 executing information processing according to a program.

[0064] The data acquisition unit 21 acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of the own ship. The navigation-related data includes, for example, surrounding condition data indicating the condition around the own ship, ship state data indicating the state of the own ship, lookout ability data indicating the lookout ability of the own ship, or call data indicating a call from a radiotelephone of another ship (refer to Figure 7 ).

[0065] The surrounding condition data includes, for example, the positions of other ships detected by the radar 41 or the AIS 42. The surrounding condition data may also include the speeds (ship speed and course) of other ships. That is, the TT data generated by the radar 41 or the AIS data received by the AIS 42 is an example of the surrounding condition data.

[0066] In addition, the surrounding condition data may include meteorological and sea condition data indicating the meteorology and sea state around the own ship. The meteorological and sea condition data is acquired by the wireless communication unit 5 from an external server. In addition, the surrounding condition data may also include data indicating the degree of visibility around the own ship. The degree of visibility is determined based on the image captured by the camera 43.

[0067] The ship state data includes, for example, the position of the own ship detected by the GNSS receiver 44. In addition, the ship state data may include data indicating the operating state of sensors of equipment such as engines installed on the own ship, or data indicating the degree of sway of the own ship detected by a gyro sensor.

[0068] Furthermore, the ship state data may also include data indicating the cargo volume of the own ship or data indicating the hull state of the own ship, etc. The hull state is, for example, the amount of ballast or the amount of barnacles attached to the ship bottom. These data are, for example, pre-stored in the memory by user input and read when in use.

[0069] The lookout ability data is data representing the lookout ability of the own ship at the time of calculating the degree of assistance required, and includes, for example, the number of lookout persons in the own ship, the attributes of the lookout persons in the own ship, or the elapsed time since the start of lookout.

[0070] Specifically, the number of lookout persons is the number of persons conducting lookout at the time of calculating the degree of assistance required. The attributes of the lookout persons are, for example, rank, qualification, or number of years of experience. The elapsed time since the start of lookout is the elapsed time from when the lookout person starts lookout to the time of calculating the degree of assistance required.

[0071] The lookout ability data is obtained, for example, from a lookout schedule as Figure 8 shown. In the lookout schedule, the time when each crew member is responsible for lookout is determined, and the number of lookout persons, the attributes of the lookout persons, or the elapsed time since the start of lookout at each time can be read.

[0072] The call data is generated by the wireless communication unit 5 when a call from another ship is received by the radiotelephone 52.

[0073] The degree-of-assistance calculation unit 22 calculates the degree of assistance required, which represents the degree to which the own ship needs assistance from the outside, based on the navigation-related data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21. That is, the degree-of-assistance calculation unit 22 comprehensively calculates the degree of assistance required based on the surrounding condition data, the ship state data, the lookout ability data, or the call data, etc.

[0074] The degree-of-assistance calculation unit 22 uses a learned model pre-generated by machine learning to estimate the degree of assistance required based on the navigation-related data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 (refer to Figure 7 ). Not limited to this, the degree-of-assistance calculation unit 22 can also calculate the degree of assistance required according to the lookout ability data in accordance with specified rules.

[0075] The learned model is generated by machine learning with the learning navigation-related data as input data and the learning degree of assistance required associated with the learning navigation-related data as teacher data. The learned model is constituted by, for example, a deep neural network.

[0076] The learning degree of assistance required associated with the learning navigation-related data is a label indicating whether assistance is required in binary values. Preferably, the learning degree of assistance is given according to, for example, the evaluation of senior navigation experts.

[0077] The output layer of the learned model is constructed by a sigmoid function and outputs a value between 0 or more and 1 or less. The degree of assistance required is represented by a value between 0 or more and 100 or less, for example, according to the value output from the learned model.

[0078] For example, when the position of the own ship detected by the GNSS receiver 44 is in a specific sea area such as the Strait of Malacca, the required assistance degree is calculated to be relatively high. In addition, when it is rainy or the wave height is high around the own ship, the required assistance degree is calculated to be relatively high.

[0079] In addition, the worse the field of view judged from the image captured by the camera 43, the higher the required assistance degree is calculated. In addition, the larger the number of other ships detected by the radar 41 or AIS 42, the higher the required assistance degree is calculated.

[0080] In addition, when a call from another ship is received in the radiotelephone 52, the required assistance degree is calculated to be relatively high. In addition, when there is an abnormal condition in the operation state of the sensors of the own ship or the swing of the own ship is large, the required assistance degree is calculated to be relatively high.

[0081] In addition, the lower the lookout ability of the own ship, the higher the required assistance degree is calculated. For example, the fewer the number of lookout personnel, the lower their level, the shorter their years of experience, or the longer the elapsed time since the start of lookout, the higher the required assistance degree.

[0082] The transmission unit 23 transmits the required assistance degree calculated by the required assistance degree calculation unit 22 to the remote monitoring device 3. In addition, the transmission unit 23 transmits the navigation-related data acquired by the data acquisition unit 21 to the remote monitoring device 3 at a prescribed transmission frequency. As will be described later, the transmission unit 23 may also change the transmission frequency of the navigation-related data according to the required assistance degree.

[0083] Figure 9 It is a block diagram showing a structural example of the remote monitoring device 3. The control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 includes a reception unit 31, a monitoring screen display unit 32, an auxiliary data generation unit 33, and a transmission unit 34. These functional units are realized by the CPU of the control unit 30 executing information processing according to a program.

[0084] The reception unit 31 receives the required assistance degree and the navigation-related data transmitted by the ship information sharing device 2.

[0085] The monitoring screen display unit 32 displays an image showing the navigation-related data received by the reception unit 31. For example, the monitoring screen display unit 32 generates a monitoring screen MG (refer to Figure 4 ) in which an identifier SY is arranged at a position within the image corresponding to the actual position of the ship S, and displays it on the terminal 9.

[0086] In addition, the monitoring screen display unit 32 may also change at least one of the display mode and the selection state of the identifier SY according to the required assistance degree received by the reception unit 31. For example, as Figure 4As shown, the display modes such as the shape, color, or size of the identifier EY that requires assistance above the threshold can be made different from those of other identifiers SY. Additionally, the identifier EY that requires assistance above the threshold can be automatically set to the selected state as the monitoring target.

[0087] The auxiliary data generation unit 33 generates auxiliary data for assisting the navigation of the ship S based on the operation input of the onshore ship captain C. For example, as Figure 5 shown, the data of the deviation avoidance recommended route PR input by the onshore ship captain C to the terminal 9 is generated as auxiliary data. Not limited to this, the auxiliary data can be, for example, the voice data of the onshore ship captain C or the control data for ship operation control.

[0088] The sending unit 34 sends the auxiliary data generated by the auxiliary data generation unit 33 to the ship information sharing device 2. For example, in the case of sending the data of the deviation avoidance recommended route PR as auxiliary data, in the ship S, the deviation avoidance recommended route PR is displayed by the ship information sharing device 2 and confirmed by the crew.

[0089] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the sequence of the navigation assistance method implemented in the navigation assistance system 100.

[0090] The control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 executes the information processing S11 - S14 shown in this figure according to the program, thereby functioning as the above-mentioned data acquisition unit 21, required assistance degree calculation unit 22, and sending unit 23.

[0091] First, the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 acquires the navigation-related data of the own ship (S11: the process of the data acquisition unit 21).

[0092] Next, the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 calculates the required assistance degree of the own ship based on the navigation-related data acquired in S11 (S12: the process of the required assistance degree calculation unit 22).

[0093] Next, the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 determines the transmission frequency of the navigation-related data based on the required assistance degree calculated in S12 (S13). The determination of the transmission frequency will be described later.

[0094] Next, the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 sends the required assistance degree calculated in S12 and the navigation-related data acquired in S11 to the remote monitoring device 3 (S14: the process of the sending unit 23).

[0095] The control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 executes the information processing S21 to S25 shown in the figure according to a program, thereby functioning as the above-described receiving unit 31, monitoring screen display unit 32, auxiliary data generation unit 33, and transmitting unit 34.

[0096] First, the control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 receives the degree of assistance required and navigation-related data from the ship information sharing device 2 (S21: processing as the receiving unit 31).

[0097] Next, the control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 displays a monitoring screen on the terminal 9 based on the degree of assistance required and navigation-related data received in S21 (S22: processing as the monitoring screen display unit 32).

[0098] Next, if an operation input is received from the onshore captain C (S23: yes), the control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 generates auxiliary data based on the operation input (S24: processing as the auxiliary data generation unit 33)

[0099] Next, the control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 sends the auxiliary data generated in S24 to the ship information sharing device 2 (S25: processing as the transmitting unit 34). The sent auxiliary data is used for display, etc. in the ship information sharing device 2.

[0100] Figure 11 This is a diagram for explaining the change in the transmission frequency of navigation-related data. The control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 changes the transmission frequency of navigation-related data sent to the remote monitoring device 3 according to the degree of assistance required.

[0101] Specifically, the higher the degree of assistance required, the higher the transmission frequency set by the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2, and the lower the degree of assistance required, the lower the transmission frequency set by the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2. In other words, the lower the degree of assistance required, the less the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 sends navigation-related data.

[0102] The higher the degree of assistance required, the higher the transmission frequency set, so that detailed navigation-related data can be provided to the remote monitoring device 3 onshore and the monitoring resolution can be improved. On the other hand, by reducing the transmission frequency as the degree of assistance required decreases, the communication data volume can be suppressed.

[0103] In addition, as a result of the lower transmission frequency, the unsent navigation-related data that has not been sent to the remote monitoring device 3 is stored in the memory of the ship information sharing device 2 and is transmitted to the remote monitoring device 3 at other times through the process described below.

[0104] Figure 12It is a flowchart for explaining the transmission of voyage-related data that has not been sent. The information processing S31 to S32 shown in this figure is executed, for example, when the ship S docks.

[0105] When communication above a specified speed is established between the ship information sharing device 2 and the remote monitoring device 3 (S31: Yes), the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 transmits the unsent voyage-related data to the remote monitoring device 3 (S32).

[0106] The situation of establishing communication above a specified speed is, for example, a situation where wired communication can be performed when the ship S docks or a situation where wireless communication faster than satellite communication (for example, wireless LAN) can be performed, etc.

[0107] The voyage-related data collected by the remote monitoring device 3 from a plurality of ships S is used for re-learning the learned model to estimate the degree of assistance required. Thereby, the estimation accuracy of the learned model can be improved.

[0108] Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described. Figure 13 It is a block diagram showing a structural example of the remote monitoring device 3. In the second embodiment, both the ship information sharing device 2 and the remote monitoring device 3 are examples of voyage assistance devices that calculate the degree of assistance required. However, it is not limited to this, and the degree of assistance required may also be calculated only by the remote monitoring device 3.

[0109] The control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 has a data acquisition unit 35, a degree-of-assistance calculation unit 36, and a notification unit 37. These functional units are implemented by the CPU of the control unit 30 executing information processing according to a program. In addition to these functional units, it may also have the above-mentioned receiving unit 31, monitoring screen display unit 32, auxiliary data generation unit 33, and transmitting unit 34.

[0110] The data acquisition unit 35 acquires voyage-related data transmitted from a plurality of ships S. In particular, the data acquisition unit 35 acquires surrounding condition data indicating the surrounding conditions of each ship S from a plurality of ships S. The environmental condition data includes the positions and speeds of other ships existing around the ship S.

[0111] The degree-of-assistance calculation unit 36 calculates the relative degree of assistance required for each ship S based on the voyage-related data. The relative degree of assistance required is a degree of assistance required defined based on the relationship or comparison between the target ship S and other ships S.

[0112] By collecting voyage-related data from a plurality of ships S, the relative degree of assistance required for each ship S can be calculated. In particular, by collecting surrounding condition data including the positions and speeds of other ships existing around each ship S from a plurality of ships S, the magnitude relationship of the degrees of assistance required for the plurality of ships S can be easily determined.

[0113] The notification unit 37 notifies the corresponding ship S of the calculated relative degree of assistance required for each ship S. That is, the notification unit 37 notifies the first ship S of the calculated degree of assistance required for the first ship S, and notifies the second ship S of the calculated degree of assistance required for the second ship S.

[0114] Figure 14 It is a flowchart showing an example of the sequence of the navigation assistance method of the second embodiment. The control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 executes the information processing S51 to S53 shown in this figure according to a program, thereby functioning as the above-described data acquisition unit 35, degree-of-assistance calculation unit 36, and notification unit 37.

[0115] The control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 mounted on each ship S transmits the navigation-related data of its own ship to the remote monitoring device 3 (S41). In addition, the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 calculates the degree of assistance required for its own ship based on the navigation-related data of its own ship (S42).

[0116] If the navigation-related data is received from a plurality of ships S (S51: processing as the data acquisition unit 35), the control unit 30 of the remote monitoring device 3 calculates the relative degree of assistance required for each ship S (S52: processing as the degree-of-assistance calculation unit 36), and notifies each ship S of the relative degree of assistance required (S53: processing as the notification unit 37).

[0117] If the relative degree of assistance required is notified from the remote monitoring device 3 (S43: yes), the control unit 20 of the ship information sharing device 2 corrects the degree of assistance required for its own ship based on the notified relative degree of assistance required (S44).

[0118] According to the second embodiment described above, it is possible to calculate the relative degree of assistance required for each ship S. In addition, it is also possible to feedback the relative degree of assistance required to each ship S.

[0119] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and it is obvious that various changes can be made by those skilled in the art.

[0120] Next, representative embodiments of the present invention are listed.

[0121] (1) A navigation assistance system, wherein,

[0122] It has a navigation assistance device mounted on a ship and a remote monitoring device provided outside the ship,

[0123] The navigation assistance device has:

[0124] An acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of the ship;

[0125] A calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and

[0126] A transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship,

[0127] The remote monitoring device has:

[0128] A reception unit that receives the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device.

[0129] (2) The navigation assistance system according to (1), wherein

[0130] The transmission unit of the navigation assistance device further transmits the navigation-related data at a prescribed frequency.

[0131] (3) The navigation assistance system according to (2), wherein

[0132] The remote monitoring device further has:

[0133] A display unit that displays the navigation-related data transmitted by the navigation assistance device;

[0134] A generation unit that generates assistance data for assisting the navigation of the ship based on a user's operation input; and

[0135] A transmission unit that transmits the assistance data to the navigation assistance device.

[0136] (4) The navigation assistance system according to (2) or (3), wherein

[0137] The transmission unit of the navigation assistance device changes the frequency of transmitting the navigation-related data according to the degree of assistance required.

[0138] (5) The navigation assistance system according to any one of (2) to (4), wherein

[0139] If communication at a speed greater than or equal to a prescribed speed has been established between the navigation assistance device and the remote monitoring device, the transmission unit of the navigation assistance device transmits the navigation-related data that has not been transmitted in the past to the remote monitoring device.

[0140] (6) The navigation assistance system according to any one of (2) to (5), wherein

[0141] The remote monitoring device further has: a calculation unit that calculates the relative degree of assistance required for a plurality of ships based on the navigation-related data transmitted from the plurality of ships.

[0142] (7) The navigation assistance system according to (6), wherein,

[0143] The remote monitoring device further has: a notification unit that notifies each of a plurality of the ships of the relative degree of assistance required.

[0144] (8) The navigation assistance system according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein,

[0145] The remote monitoring device further has a display unit that displays the identification of the ship,

[0146] The display unit changes at least one of the display mode and the selection state of the identification according to the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device.

[0147] (9) A navigation assistance device, wherein,

[0148] It has:

[0149] An acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship;

[0150] A calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and

[0151] A transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship.

[0152] (10) A navigation assistance method, wherein,

[0153] Acquire navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship,

[0154] Calculate a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data,

[0155] Transmit the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship.

[0156] (11) A program that causes a computer to execute the following:

[0157] Acquire navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship,

[0158] Calculate a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data,

[0159] Transmit the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship.

[0160]

Terminology

[0161] Not all objectives, effects, and advantages can be achieved according to any specific embodiment described in this specification. Therefore, for example, those skilled in the art should recognize that a specific embodiment can be configured such that it may not achieve other objectives, effects, and advantages as taught or disclosed in this specification, but can still achieve or optimize one or more of the effects and advantages taught in this specification.

[0162] All processes described in this specification can be implemented and fully automated by software code modules executed by a computing system including one or more computers or processors. The code modules can be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. Part or all of the methods can be implemented by dedicated computer hardware.

[0163] According to the present disclosure, there are many other variations besides the content described in this specification. For example, according to an embodiment, any specific action, event, or function in the algorithms described in this specification can be executed in a different sequence, and can be added, combined, or completely omitted (for example, not all actions or events described are necessary for executing the algorithm). Also, in a specific embodiment, actions or events can be executed non-sequentially and in parallel, for example, via multi-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores, or on other parallel architectures. Also, different tasks or processes can be executed by different machines and / or computing systems that can work together.

[0164] The various exemplary logic blocks and modules described with respect to the embodiments disclosed in this specification can be implemented or executed by a machine such as a processor. The processor can be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor can be a controller, microcontroller, state machine, or a combination thereof, etc. The processor can include circuitry configured to process computer-executable instructions. In another embodiment, the processor includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable devices that perform logical operations without processing computer-executable instructions. The processor can also employ combinations of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor (digital signal processing device) and a microprocessor; multiple microprocessors; one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core; any other similar configuration. Although mainly digital technologies are described in this specification, the processor can also mainly include analog components. For example, part or all of the signal processing algorithms described in this specification can be implemented by analog circuits or analog-digital hybrid circuits. The computing environment includes computer systems based on microprocessors, mainframe computers, digital signal processors, portable computing devices, computing engines within device controllers or apparatuses, but can also include any type of computer system not limited thereto.

[0165] Unless otherwise expressly recited, conditional language such as "can," "is able to," "may," or "there is a possibility that" shall be understood in its ordinary context of use to convey that a particular embodiment includes a particular feature, element, and / or step but not other embodiments. Thus, such conditional language generally does not imply that a feature, element, and / or step is required by any method of more than one embodiment, or that more than one embodiment necessarily includes logic for determining whether such feature, element, and / or step is included in or performed by any particular embodiment.

[0166] Unless otherwise specifically recited, disjunctive language such as the phrase "at least one of X, Y, Z" shall be understood in its ordinary context of use to mean that an item, term, etc. can be any one of X, Y, Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, Z). Thus, such disjunctive language generally does not imply that a particular embodiment requires at least one of X, at least one of Y, or at least one of Z to exist separately.

[0167] It should be understood that any process description, element, or module in the flowcharts described in this specification and / or shown in the drawings potentially represents a part of a module, segment, or code that includes one or more executable instructions for implementing a particular logical function or element in the process. Alternative embodiments are within the scope of the embodiments described in this specification, where, as understood by those skilled in the art, an element or function can be deleted from or performed in a different order from what has been illustrated or described, substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, according to the relevant functionality.

[0168] Unless otherwise specifically stated, numerals such as "a" shall generally be construed to include more than one of the item(s) described. Thus, a statement such as "a device configured to..." refers to including more than one of the recited devices. One or a plurality of such recited devices can be configured collectively to perform the recited reference. For example, "a processor configured to perform the following A, B, and C" can include a first processor configured to perform A and a second processor configured to perform B and C. Additionally, even if a specific number of recited examples has been explicitly recited, those skilled in the art should understand that such a recitation generally means at least the recited number (e.g., a simple recitation of "a recitation of two" without other modifiers generally means at least two or more than two).

[0169] Generally, those skilled in the art can judge that the terms used in this specification should generally be interpreted as "non - restrictive" terms (for example, the term "comprising" should be interpreted as "more than this, at least comprising...", the term "having" should be interpreted as "at least having...", and the term "including" should be interpreted as "including the following but not limited to this").

[0170] For the purpose of illustration, the term "horizontal" used in this specification is defined as a plane that is parallel to the floor plane or surface of the area where the illustrated system is used or the plane where the illustrated method is implemented, regardless of direction. The term "floor" can be replaced by the terms "ground" or "water surface". The term "vertical / plumb" refers to a direction that is perpendicular / plumb to the defined horizontal line. Terms such as "upper side", "lower side", "below", "above", "side", "higher", "lower", "upward", "more than~", "underlying", etc. are defined relative to the horizontal plane.

[0171] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the terms "attach", "connect", "pair", and other related terms used in this specification should be interpreted to include removable, movable, fixed, adjustable, and / or detachable connections or couplings. A connection / coupling includes a connection with a direct connection and / or an intermediate structure between the two described components.

[0172] Unless otherwise specifically stated, the quantities modified by terms such as "about", "approximately", and "substantially" used in this specification not only include the recited quantities but also represent amounts close to the recited quantities that achieve the desired function or reach the desired result. For example, unless otherwise specifically stated, "about", "approximately", and "substantially" refer to values less than 10% of the recited value. As used in this specification, the features of the embodiments modified by terms such as "about", "approximately", and "substantially" also represent features with a certain variability that achieve the desired function or reach the desired feature.

[0173] Multiple variations and amendments can be added to the above - mentioned embodiments, and these elements should be understood to be in other allowable examples. All such amendments and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and are protected by the following claims.

[0174] Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0175] 10 Ship - borne System

[0176] 2 Ship Information Sharing Device

[0177] 21 Data Acquisition Unit

[0178] 22 Degree of Assistance Required Calculation Unit

[0179] 23 Transmission Unit

[0180] 3 Remote monitoring device

[0181] 31 Receiving unit

[0182] 32 Monitoring screen display unit

[0183] 33 Auxiliary data generation unit

[0184] 34 Transmitting unit

[0185] 41 Radar

[0186] 42 AIS

[0187] 43 Camera

[0188] 44 GNSS receiver

[0189] 45 Gyroscope

[0190] 46 ECDIS

[0191] 5 Wireless communication unit

[0192] 52 Wireless telephone

[0193] 6 Sensors

[0194] 7 Ship handling control unit

[0195] 9 Terminal

[0196] 100 Navigation assistance system

[0197] S Ship

[0198] C Shore-based captain

Claims

1. A navigation assistance system, wherein, it has a navigation assistance device mounted on a ship and a remote monitoring device provided outside the ship, the navigation assistance device has: an acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of the ship; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and a transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship, the remote monitoring device has: a reception unit that receives the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device.

2. The navigation assistance system according to claim 1, wherein, the transmission unit of the navigation assistance device further transmits the navigation-related data at a prescribed frequency.

3. The navigation assistance system according to claim 2, wherein, the remote monitoring device further has: a display unit that displays the navigation-related data transmitted by the navigation assistance device; a generation unit that generates assistance data for assisting the navigation of the ship according to a user's operation input; and a transmission unit that transmits the assistance data to the navigation assistance device.

4. The navigation assistance system according to claim 2, wherein, the transmission unit of the navigation assistance device changes the frequency of transmitting the navigation-related data according to the degree of assistance required.

5. The navigation assistance system according to claim 2, wherein, if communication at a speed greater than or equal to a prescribed speed has been established between the navigation assistance device and the remote monitoring device, the transmission unit of the navigation assistance device transmits the navigation-related data that has not been transmitted in the past to the remote monitoring device.

6. The navigation assistance system according to claim 2, wherein, the remote monitoring device further has: a calculation unit that calculates the relative degree of assistance required for a plurality of ships based on the navigation-related data transmitted from the plurality of ships.

7. The navigation assistance system according to claim 6, wherein, the remote monitoring device further has: a notification unit that notifies each of the plurality of ships of the relative degree of assistance required.

8. The navigation assistance system according to claim 1, wherein, the remote monitoring device further has a display unit that displays the identification of the ship, and the display unit changes at least one of the display mode and the selection state of the identification according to the degree of assistance required transmitted by the navigation assistance device.

9. A navigation assistance device, wherein, it has: an acquisition unit that acquires navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship; a calculation unit that calculates a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside based on the navigation-related data; and a transmission unit that transmits the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship.

10. A navigation assistance method, wherein, navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship is acquired, a degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs assistance from the outside is calculated based on the navigation-related data, and the degree of assistance required is transmitted to the outside of the ship.

11. A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: acquire navigation-related data related to the navigation of a ship, Based on the navigation-related data, calculate the degree of assistance required indicating the degree to which the ship needs external assistance. Send the degree of assistance required to the outside of the ship.

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