Operation support system, operation support method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a method for calculating operation support information for a ship taking into account how to control the ship speed during berthing / unberthing. This operation support system comprises: a speed analysis unit that, on the basis of the speed of a ship measured when the ship is berthed / unberthed, analyzes a reference value of the speed according to the distance from the berthing / unberthing point to the ship; and a support information calculation unit that calculates a route for the ship to arrive at the berthing / unberthing point or leave the berthing / unberthing point and ship maneuvering information in that case, on the condition that the ship is operated at or below the reference speed value.

Description

Flight support system, flight support method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a flight assistance system, a flight assistance method, and a program. This disclosure claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-196071 filed on November 17, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Ship entry and departure (berthing) are among the most difficult aspects of ship maneuvering, and depend heavily on the judgment of the ship operator, such as the captain or navigator. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a docking support system for safely and quickly docking a ship at a pier. This docking support system sets multiple waypoints to the docking position, taking into consideration external disturbance conditions such as wind in the water area leading to the docking position, and constraints such as obstacles present in the water area. Then, a ship maneuvering motion simulation is performed to ensure that the ship sails via the set waypoints, and a planned route and ship maneuvering information are calculated. Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a method for automatically generating docking and undocking routes by using a covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy (CMA-ES) to set an evaluation function that calculates the sum of penalties depending on the degree to which the ship's state variables (e.g., position, heading angle, ship speed, and turning angular rate) at checkpoints (CPs) set on the route deviate from their target values, penalties in the event of collision with an obstacle, and penalties in the event that the final state variables of the ship do not satisfy the terminal condition, and then solving an optimal control problem aimed at minimizing the value of this evaluation function.

[0003] According to ship operators, when docking a ship, it is important to determine how to gradually reduce (reduce) the ship's speed to the docking point. Ships do not have a function equivalent to a brake, so it is necessary to gradually and systematically reduce the ship's speed while coming alongside, but this decision is usually made by the ship operator. Neither Patent Document 1 nor Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a method for calculating the route and maneuvering information to docking while taking into account the gradual reduction in ship speed. If the route to docking is calculated by performing optimization calculations or the like without taking into account the gradual reduction in ship speed, there is a possibility that unrealistic route and maneuvering information involving sudden speed increases or decreases may be generated.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-76537

[0005] Yoshiki Miyauchi, et. al, "Optimization on planning of trajectory and control of autonomous berthing and unberthing for the realistic port geometry", Ocean Engineering, Vol. 245, No.November 2021, p.110390, 2022Rin Suyama, et. al, "Ship trajectory planning method for reproducing human operation at ports", Ocean Engineering, Vol.266, p.112763, 2022

[0006] There is a need for a method for calculating information that supports ship operation, taking into account how to control ship speed when docking or undocking.

[0007] The present disclosure provides a flight operation support system, a flight operation support method, and a program that can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an operation support system includes a speed analysis unit that analyzes a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking or undocking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and a support information calculation unit that calculates a route when the ship is docking at the docking or undocking point or a route when the ship is undocking from the docking or undocking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information for that case.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the operation support method is an operation support method executed by a computer, which analyzes a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking or undocking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and calculates a route for the ship when docking at the docking or undocking point or a route for the ship when undocking from the docking or undocking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information in that case.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes a computer to execute a process of analyzing a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and calculating a route when the ship is docking at the docking point or a route when the ship is undocking from the docking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information in that case.

[0011] According to the above-described navigation support system, navigation support method, and program, it is possible to calculate navigation support information for a ship that takes into consideration how the ship speed is controlled when docking or leaving the berthing.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an operation assistance system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a ship speed analysis process when docking and berthing according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a speed analysis result according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a disturbance analysis process when docking and berthing according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a first diagram explaining the disturbance analysis process according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a second diagram explaining the disturbance analysis process according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 is a first diagram showing an example of a disturbance analysis result according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 is a second diagram showing an example of a disturbance analysis result according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 is a third diagram showing an example of a disturbance analysis result according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 is a first flowchart showing an example of an output process of operation assistance information according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a second flowchart showing an example of an output process of operation assistance information according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the operation assistance system according to an embodiment.

[0013] <Embodiments> A navigation assistance system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. (Configuration) FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a navigation assistance system according to an embodiment. The navigation assistance system 10 calculates a route and maneuvering information (e.g., rudder angle, propeller rotation speed, etc.) that takes into account an appropriate speed for a ship when docking or departing from a berth, and outputs the calculated information as navigation assistance information. The navigation assistance system 10 may be installed on a ship and used to calculate the navigation assistance information while the ship is in operation and present it to the ship operator. The navigation assistance system 10 may be installed on land and configured to acquire information such as the position of the ship underway, wind direction, wind speed, and tidal currents via communication, calculate the navigation assistance information, and transmit the calculated navigation assistance information to the ship. Alternatively, the navigation assistance system 10 may be used to calculate the route of a ship to be simulated when performing a port entry / departure simulation in a virtual space, regardless of whether the ship is actually operating. 1, the flight operation assistance system 10 includes an input unit 11, a speed analysis unit 12, a disturbance analysis unit 13, an optimal route calculation unit 14, an output unit 15, and a storage unit 16. In addition, the flight operation assistance system 10 may include communication means as necessary.

[0014] The input unit 11 is configured using input interfaces such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, an input port, and the like, and acquires measurement values ​​measured by instruments such as positioning meters such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) or a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver, speedometers for measuring ship speed, wind direction and speed meters, tidal current meters, and current meters equipped on the ship, and records these measurement values ​​in association with the measurement times in the storage unit 16. The input unit 11 accepts input by a user using a keyboard or the like. For example, the input unit 11 accepts operations to instruct calculation of operation support information (described later) and input of settings required for calculation of the operation support information.

[0015] The speed analysis unit 12 analyzes the ship speed measured when the ship is docked and undocking. For example, when docking, it analyzes how the ship operator reduces the ship speed to dock. While methods have been proposed to automatically calculate a route for sailing a ship to a destination and the ship control variables for achieving that route, no method has been proposed for calculating a route that explicitly considers appropriate ship speed control, which is a challenge during docking and undocking, which is highly challenging. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ship speed measured when the ship actually docks and undocks is taken as the positive value. Actual ship speed values ​​are collected and statistically processed to determine the ship speed according to the distance from the docking and undocking point, and this ship speed is output as a reference value (guideline). For example, when docking, operating the ship so as not to exceed the reference value constitutes appropriate ship speed control during docking. Here, a method for calculating the reference ship speed during docking and undocking is described using Figures 2 and 3 .

[0016] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a ship speed analysis process during docking and undocking. First, a target docking and undocking point (port) is selected, and actual measurements of the ship's speed and position when the ship docks and undocks are collected for that docking and undocking point (step S1). The input unit 11 acquires ship speed and position information, such as the ship's latitude and longitude, measured at the same time along a certain track, and stores the time, speed, and position information in association with each other in the storage unit 16. The input unit 11 may collect ship speed and position information for a specific ship when the ship docks and undocks, or may collect ship speed and position information for multiple ships. While the greater the amount of collected data, the greater the speed reduction during docking and undocking varies significantly depending on the shape of the port, the status of other ships, weather, loading conditions, and other factors. Offshore waiting near a docking and undocking point is likely to result in frequent sudden accelerations and decelerations. Therefore, the route used to establish ship speed standards (guidelines) is appropriately selected. For example, by selecting only the route when docking at the target port, it is expected that more accurate reference values ​​can be established for that port.

[0017] Next, the speed analysis unit 12 calculates the speed for each distance from the docking / undocking point for each track and creates a graph (step S2). The speed analysis unit 12 calculates the straight-line distance (Euclidean distance) from the docking / undocking point to the ship at a certain time based on the position information of the docking / undocking point for the track to be processed and the position information at the time of docking / undocking recorded in the memory unit 16, and plots the ship speed information measured at the same time and the calculated straight-line distance on a graph. Each line in the graph illustrated in Figure 3, except for L1, L2, and L3, is created by connecting the plotted points. The distance from the docking / undocking point to the ship may be calculated not as a straight-line distance but as a route distance along the route (for example, one of the routes selected in step S1 or a route calculated from the selected route (for example, an average route)).

[0018] Next, the speed analysis unit 12 performs statistical processing to calculate the average value and standard deviation of the ship speed for each predetermined interval in the distance direction (step S3). The distance from the docking / undocking point to the ship is D, the ship speed according to the distance is U(D), the average value of the ship speed according to the distance is U(D), and the standard deviation of the ship speed according to the distance is σ(D). Next, the speed analysis unit 12 calculates approximate curves for each of the average value and standard deviation of the ship speed according to the distance (step S4). For example, the speed analysis unit 12 calculates U^(D) and σ^(D) using power approximation. Power approximation is an approximation that can be expressed by the following equation (1) using coefficients a and b, where x is the reference quantity and y is the approximate quantity: y = b x ａ ...(1) U^(D) and σ^(D) can be expressed as follows: U^(D) = b Ｕ￣ ・Da Ｕ￣ σ^(D) = b σ￣ ・Da σ￣ In FIG. 3, L1 indicates U^(D), L2 indicates U^(D)+σ^(D), and L3 indicates the minimum boat speed (the lower limit of the boat speed at which the steering is effective).

[0019] Next, the speed analysis unit 12 calculates the reference value of the ship speed (step S5). Using the approximation curve acquired in step S4, the speed analysis unit 12 calculates the upper limit of the ship speed according to the straight-line distance from the docking / undocking point (or the distance along the route) as the reference value of the ship speed. ｇｕｉｄｅIf (D) is the reference value of the speed, for example, the speed analysis unit 12 sets the reference value of the speed by the following equation (2): ｇｕｉｄｅ (D) = U^(D) + K · σ^(D) (2) In equation (2), the mean + standard deviation is used as the upper limit reference, but the standard deviation coefficient K can be adjusted as appropriate as a parameter. The speed analysis unit 12 may calculate the reference value of ship speed for each berthing / unberthing point and / or for each ship, or may calculate it for each berthing / unberthing point and / or for ship attributes such as type, size, weight, etc. The speed analysis unit 12 records the calculated reference value in the memory unit 16.

[0020] By presenting the ship helmsman with the reference ship speed as the upper limit of the ship speed when docking and undocking, it is expected that the ship helmsman's burden in maneuvering can be reduced and that this will contribute to the realization of safer navigation. The reference ship speed (upper limit) according to the distance analyzed by the speed analysis unit 12 may be presented according to the position of the ship while sailing, or, as will be described later, it can be incorporated into the optimization problem of docking and undocking routes and used to generate routes that are more realistic and safer than before.

[0021] The disturbance analysis unit 13 analyzes the relationship between disturbances such as wind, tides, and ocean currents measured during docking and undocking and the actual route, and analyzes the impact of the disturbances on the actual route. It is believed that the wake during actual docking includes the influence of various disturbances. It is known that the impact of disturbances is particularly significant during slow-speed navigation, such as docking and undocking. In this embodiment, it is assumed that a reference route in windless conditions is determined in advance, and the transverse position of the ship is adjusted from the reference route according to wind speed and wind direction. Based on this assumption, the actual docking route can be considered the result of adjusting the ship's position from the reference route according to the disturbances at that time. Therefore, in this embodiment, the correlation between the disturbances measured during actual docking and undocking and the transverse position of the ship at that time is analyzed for each distance from the docking and undocking point, and this analysis result is used to calculate the reference route in windless conditions and to calculate a route according to the disturbances. In this embodiment, a windless condition refers to the absence of wind in the transverse direction, and wind disturbances in the longitudinal direction are not considered. Here, a method for analyzing the relationship between disturbances and the amount of adjustment of the hull position when docking or undocking will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0022] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a disturbance analysis process for berthing and unberthing. First, a target berthing point (port) is selected, and actual measured values ​​of the disturbance and position when the ship berths and unberths at the berthing and unberth point are collected (step S11). The input unit 11 acquires wind direction, wind speed, tidal current, and ocean current measured at the same time on a certain route, as well as the ship's position information (latitude and longitude), and records the time, wind direction, wind speed, tidal current, ocean current, and position information in association with each other in the storage unit 16. The input unit 11 may collect disturbance and position information for a specific ship when the ship berths and unberths, or may collect disturbance and position information for multiple ships. The following description will be given using wind direction and wind speed as examples of disturbances, but similar processing can be applied to tidal currents and ocean currents.

[0023] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the average wind disturbance vector (step S12). Assuming that the wind direction and wind speed are steady and spatially uniform, and that the contribution of wind disturbance in the ship's width direction is large, the wind vector in the ship's width direction (Y-axis direction in Figure 5) is calculated. Figure 5 shows the coordinate system used in disturbance analysis. Suppose a ship has docked N times at a certain docking / undocking point B. For all N dockings, the average of the ship's midship coordinates at berthing is defined as point O, and the average azimuth angle at that time is defined as θ. ０ Let the origin be O, and θ ０ The X axis is set in the direction of the arrow, and the Y axis is set perpendicular to the X axis and positive on the right side of the paper. θ Here, C θ is called the reference coordinate system. The azimuth angle is positive clockwise. Reference coordinate system C θ In this case, the X and Y axis components of the midship coordinates of the hull at time t on route i (1≦i≦N) are respectively x(t, i, C θ ), y(t,i,C θ ), and the azimuth angle is ψ(t, i, C θ ) can be expressed as follows. ｉ Then, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the vector W ｙ、ｉ Calculate.

[0024] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 plots the coordinates of the hull center at each time for each route on the reference coordinate system Cθ (step S13). θAn example of this is shown in Figure 6. Each dashed line in Figure 6 shows the ship's wake during N berthing attempts.

[0025] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the position of the ship in the Y-axis direction for each distance in the X-axis direction from the docking point (step S14). The disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the position in the Y-axis direction on each route for each predetermined interval in the X-axis direction. The distance interval Δ is set as dk = κ Δ (κ = . . . , -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . . . ), and the reference coordinate system C θ In the navigation record i, the Y-axis component of the ship position at X = dk is λ(d ｋ ,i,C θ ) Here, it is assumed that the average wind direction and average wind speed are constant during one berthing. In the navigation record i, the average wind disturbance vector W ｉ Set W ｉ The X-axis component and the Y-axis component of W ｘ、ｉ , W ｙ、ｉ For example, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the Y-axis component λ(d ｋ ,i,C θ ) is calculated and W is assumed to be constant. ｙ、ｉ and record it in the storage unit 16 in association with the above.

[0026] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the correlation coefficient between the wind disturbance and the hull position according to the distance from the docking / undocking point (step S15). ｋ Separately, the wind vector W in the Y-axis direction recorded in step S14 ｙ、ｉ and the Y-axis component of the hull position λ (d ｋ ,i,C θ ) is calculated. ｋ = W at -100 (m) ｙ、ｉ and λ(d ｋ ,i,C θ ) on route i. ｙ、ｉ and λ(-100, i, C θ The disturbance analysis unit 13 performs a regression analysis based on these points, and calculates the relationship between d ｋ = W at -100 (m)ｙ、ｉ and λ(-100, i, C θ The disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates a regression coefficient, which is the slope of the regression line 600, and further calculates a correlation coefficient from the regression coefficient. ｋ The separately calculated correlation coefficient is recorded in the storage unit 16. ｋ The figure shows a graph of the correlation coefficient between wind disturbance in the Y-axis direction and the Y-axis component of the hull position for each point. In the example of Figure 8, the correlation coefficient is 0.5 around X = -500, and it can be seen that the correlation coefficient increases as the berthing point is approached. The larger the correlation coefficient, the more likely it is that the adjustment of the hull's position in the hull's width direction depends on the Y-axis component of wind disturbance, and the more effective the guidelines (for example, the reference route described next) are.

[0027] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the position in the Y-axis direction when there is no wind (step S16). In the graph of Fig. 7, the value on the vertical axis when the horizontal axis is 0 indicates the position of the hull in the Y-axis direction when there is no wind (the component in the Y-axis direction is 0). The disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the distance d ｋ Separately, the position of the ship in the Y-axis direction when the component of the wind disturbance vector in the Y-axis direction is 0 is calculated, and the reference coordinate system C θ The wind vector component in the Y-axis direction is plotted on the graph. An example of the ship's position in a windless state is shown in Figure 9. The route 91 in Figure 9 is an estimated route when the wind vector component in the Y-axis direction is 0, i.e., in a windless state, analyzed based on the actual route at the time of docking and undocking and the wind direction and wind speed actually measured at the time of docking and undocking. This route 91 is called the reference route. The route 91 can be used to generate checkpoints (CPs) in the route optimization calculation described below. Alternatively, by specifying an arbitrary value for the Y-axis direction instead of 0, a guideline for a route based on actual performance for wind disturbances of any magnitude can be obtained. While the above explanation uses wind as an example of a disturbance, other disturbances such as tidal currents and ocean currents can also be treated in the same way, and a reference route corresponding to the disturbance can be calculated.

[0028] The optimal route calculation unit 14 calculates a route that takes into account how to control the ship speed when docking or undocking, and maneuvering information for achieving that route. For example, the optimal route calculation unit 14 uses an MMG model to repeatedly predict the ship's state variables (e.g., ship position, speed, heading angle, and turning angular velocity) for the next step when given control variables (maneuvering information) such as rudder angle, propeller rotation speed, and bow thruster rotation speed at each position from a predetermined starting position to the docking or undocking point as parameters, and calculates time-series maneuvering information from the starting position to the docking or undocking point and the route at that time. At this time, the optimal route calculation unit 14 searches for a set of maneuvering information and a route that satisfy predetermined conditions. Methods for treating this route search as an optimal control problem and searching for a route that minimizes an evaluation function defined from the perspective of time minimization, etc., are disclosed in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2. In this embodiment, the optimal route calculation unit 14 can calculate an optimized route using the same method as in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2. However, unlike the methods in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, the optimal route calculation unit 14 calculates the optimal route by incorporating the reference value of the ship speed analyzed by the speed analysis unit 12 and the reference route analyzed by the disturbance analysis unit 13 into the calculation logic. In the methods disclosed in Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, the formula for the evaluation function includes a term for calculating a penalty value in the event of a collision with an obstacle, a term for calculating a penalty value when the final state quantity of the hull does not satisfy the terminal condition, a term for calculating the time from the start to coming alongside, and a term for calculating the degree to which the state quantity of the ship at each CP deviates from the target value. The sum of these terms is used as the evaluation function. Then, the route and time-series control variables that minimize the value of this evaluation function are calculated using CMA-ES. In this embodiment, a new term Js in the following equation (3) is added to the conventional evaluation function. The term J ｓ is a penalty for the ship speed exceeding the reference speed value calculated by the speed analysis unit 12.

[0029]

[0030] Here, U ｇｕｉｄｅ (D) is the reference value of the ship speed according to the distance from the docking point. ｓ is the term J in the entire evaluation function ｓis the weighting coefficient, D is the Euclidean distance between the hull and the berthing point at time t, u(t) is the ship speed at time t, U lim is the lower limit of the boat speed. An example of the evaluation function used in this embodiment is shown in the following equation (5).

[0031]

[0032] The left side of equation (5), J(X), indicates that this evaluation function is a function of vector X, whose elements are time-series control variables. Ｂ The formula of the evaluation function is a function including "Formula 1" which calculates the penalty value in case of collision with an obstacle, etc., and "Formula 2" which calculates the penalty value and the time required for berthing and unberthing maneuvers in case the final state quantity of the hull does not satisfy the terminal condition. "Formula 1" is configured to take a larger value when the distance between the hull and surrounding structures etc. is close, and "Formula 2" is configured to take a larger value when the terminal condition of the hull (for example, the berthing position or the attitude at that time) is not satisfied or the longer the time from the start of berthing to the completion of berthing. The two items on the right side (P ｃｐ、ｊ The sum of the above functions (J) is a function whose value changes depending on whether the checkpoint conditions are met. Checkpoint conditions are conditions imposed on the ship's position, heading angle, ship's speed, and heading angular velocity at CPs set along the route. The two function items are configured so that the value increases the more state quantities that do not meet the checkpoint conditions, or the more CPs that do not meet the conditions. For the target value of the ship's speed, which is one of the state quantities, a standard ship's speed value corresponding to the straight-line distance (or the distance along the route) between the CP and the berthing point is applied. The three items J on the right-hand side ｓ is as explained in the above equations (3) and (4).

[0033] In the optimal control problem of this embodiment, for the deviation from the checkpoint condition at the CP (the two terms on the right side of Equation (5)), which is also included in conventional evaluation functions, a point on the reference route calculated by the disturbance analysis unit 13 is used as the CP. For example, if the optimal route is calculated in a windless state, a CP is selected from the route 91 in FIG. 9. For example, based on FIG. 8, a CP may be selected from the range of points constituting the route 91 where the correlation between the position of the hull in the Y-axis direction and the Y-axis component of the wind is high. Alternatively, if the optimal route is calculated for a certain wind direction and wind speed, a route for that wind direction and wind speed is calculated as the reference route based on the graph shown in FIG. 7, which is analyzed for each step size in the X-axis direction, and a CP is selected from the calculated reference route.

[0034] In this way, the optimum route calculation unit 14 adds a term J representing a penalty for exceeding the reference value of the ship speed to the evaluation function in searching for the optimum route. ｓ By adding the above, the optimum route calculation unit 14 calculates a route and maneuvering information that allows the ship to sail at a speed equal to or less than the guideline speed. The optimum route calculation unit 14 selects a CP from the reference route set based on the disturbances and route measured during actual docking, and searches for a route and maneuvering information that reduces the difference between the state variables and the target values ​​at the selected CP. In this way, the optimum route calculation unit 14 calculates a route and control variables that allow the ship to sail along the reference route that has been appropriately adjusted to external disturbances such as wind.

[0035] The output unit 15 calculates operation support information such as the route when docking and undocking, maneuvering information such as rudder angle and propeller rotation speed, ship speed according to the distance from the docking and undocking point, and position in the Y-axis direction according to external disturbances.

[0036] The memory unit 16 stores information acquired by the input unit 11, analysis results by the speed analysis unit 12 and the disturbance analysis unit 13, the hull steering motion model (MMG model) required for the optimal route calculation unit 14 to perform optimization calculations, values ​​in the calculation process, the calculated route and maneuvering information (control variables), etc.

[0037] (Operation) Next, the flow of calculation and output processing of operation support information that takes into account ship speed and disturbances during docking and undocking will be described. FIG. 10 is a first flowchart showing an example of the output processing of operation support information according to the embodiment. The speed analysis unit 12 calculates a reference value of the ship speed (step S21). The speed analysis unit 12 performs processing similar to that described using FIGS. 2 and 3 to calculate a reference value of the ship speed according to the distance from the docking and undocking point. For example, when calculating the optimal route and ship maneuvering information when ship A docks at docking and undocking point B, it is preferable to calculate the reference value of the ship speed based on the ship speed, etc. measured when ship A docked at docking and undocking point B in the past. However, if such data is not available, the reference value of the ship speed may be calculated based on the ship speed, etc. measured when another ship with similar shape, weight, cargo status, etc. docked at docking and undocking point B. If there is no data measured when docking at docking point B, the reference value of the ship speed may be calculated based on the ship speed measured when ship A or another similar ship docks at another port with similar conditions. The speed analysis unit 12 records the calculated reference value of the ship speed in the memory unit 16.

[0038] Next, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the reference route (step S22). The disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the reference route by performing the same processing as that described in Figures 4 to 9. For example, if it is desired to calculate the optimal route and ship maneuvering information when ship A berths at berthing point B, it is preferable to calculate the reference route based on the wind direction, wind speed, tidal current, ocean current, etc. measured when ship A berthed at berthing point B in the past. However, if such data is not available, the reference route may be calculated based on the wind direction, wind speed, etc. measured when another ship with similar shape, weight, cargo status, etc. berthed at berthing point B. If there is no data measured when berthing at berthing point B, the reference route may be calculated based on the wind direction, wind speed, etc. measured when ship A or another ship berthed at another port with similar conditions. The disturbance analysis unit 13 records the calculated reference route in the memory unit 16. The processing order of steps S21 and S22 may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously in parallel.

[0039] Next, the optimal route calculation unit 14 performs an optimal control calculation to calculate a route and ship maneuvering information (step S23). For example, the optimal route calculation unit 14 calculates time-series ship maneuvering information and a route in that case that minimizes the value of an evaluation function (e.g., equation (5)) that includes: a function (e.g., equations (3) and (4)) that calculates a penalty value according to the magnitude of the ship speed exceeding the reference value calculated in step S21; and a function (e.g., the two terms on the right side of equation (5)) that calculates a penalty value according to the degree to which the ship's position deviates from the CP set on the reference route calculated in step S22. The optimal route calculation unit 14 records the calculated ship maneuvering information and route in the storage unit 16.

[0040] Next, the output unit 15 outputs the navigation support information (step S24). The output unit 15 outputs the route and / or maneuvering information calculated in step S23 to a display device, etc. The ship operator can maneuver the ship by referring to the output navigation support information, thereby making it safer to dock and undock the ship.

[0041] In the processing of Figure 10, both the reference value of the ship speed according to the distance from the berthing point and the reference route calculated taking into account disturbances are incorporated into the optimal control problem, but only one of them may be incorporated into the optimal control problem to calculate the route, etc. In Figure 10, the processing was described in which the reference value of the ship speed according to the distance from the berthing point and the reference route calculated taking into account disturbances are incorporated into the optimal control problem, ship maneuvering information and route based on the reference value of the ship speed and the reference route are calculated, and these are output as navigation support information. However, the navigation support information of this embodiment is not limited to this, and the reference value of the ship speed and the reference route may also be output as navigation support information. An example of the processing in this case is shown in Figure 11.

[0042] FIG. 11 is a second flowchart illustrating an example of the output process of navigation support information according to the embodiment. It is assumed that the reference value of the ship speed calculated by the speed analysis unit 12 and the graph illustrated in FIG. 7 for each predetermined interval in the X-axis direction calculated by the disturbance analysis unit 13 are already stored in the storage unit 16. It is assumed that the ship is operating (this may be not only a scene in which the ship is operating on the actual ocean, but also a scene in which the ship is operating in a virtual space). The input unit 11 acquires current ship position information and disturbances (step S31). Next, the ship speed corresponding to the distance from the berthing / unberthing point is calculated (step S32). The speed analysis unit 12 calculates the straight-line distance (or the distance along the route) between the current ship position information and the berthing / unberthing point, and acquires the reference value of the ship speed corresponding to the distance from the berthing / unberthing point stored in the storage unit 16. The speed analysis unit 12 outputs the acquired reference value of the ship speed to the output unit 15. The disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the ship's position taking the disturbance into account (step S33). Based on the current ship position information and the position information of the berthing / unberthing point, the disturbance analysis unit 13 calculates the X-axis distance from the berthing / unberthing point to the current ship position, and selects a graph corresponding to the X-axis distance from the graphs shown in FIG. 7 stored in the memory unit 16. The disturbance analysis unit 13 then calculates the ship's Y-axis position based on the regression line in the selected graph and the Y-axis component of the disturbance (the horizontal axis in FIG. 7). At this time, the disturbance analysis unit 13 may also simultaneously calculate the ship's Y-axis position when the Y-axis component of the disturbance is zero as reference information. The disturbance analysis unit 13 may calculate not only the ship's current hull position at the X-axis distance, but also the entire reference route assuming that the Y-axis value of the disturbance in the sea area is constant (for example, assuming that the value obtained in step S31 is the same throughout the entire sea area). The disturbance analysis unit 13 outputs the calculated ship's Y-axis position, the reference route, and the like to the output unit 15. Next, the output unit 15 outputs the navigation support information (step S34). The output unit 15 outputs the ship speed calculated in step S32 and / or the ship's position in the Y-axis direction and reference course calculated in step S33 to a display device, etc. By referring to the output navigation support information, the ship operator can understand at what speed the ship should be navigated and in what position the hull should be located.The process of Figure 10 and the process of Figure 11 may be combined, and the ship maneuvering information and / or route calculated by incorporating into the optimal control problem a reference value of the ship speed according to the distance from the docking / undocking point and / or a reference route calculated taking into account disturbances, and the ship speed calculated in step S32 of Figure 11 and / or the ship's position in the Y-axis direction and the reference route calculated in step S33 may be output as operation support information to a display device or the like.

[0043] In the above, an example of calculating the route when docking has been mainly used for explanation, but according to this embodiment, similar processing can be used to calculate the route and maneuvering information when leaving dock (when departing port), the reference value of ship speed according to the distance from the docking / undocking point, the reference route according to external disturbances, etc.

[0044] (Effect) Technologies for simulating ship docking and undocking have been studied in the past. While it is easy to consider information that can be used as constraints, such as no-entry zones and minimum ship speeds at which the rudder is effective, setting how ship speed should be reduced during docking has been difficult and not considered. In contrast, in this embodiment, actual ship speed data measured during actual docking and undocking is used as the standard, and maneuvering information and a route are calculated to reduce ship speed in accordance with the ship speed indicated by the actual data. By finely dividing and accumulating the actual ship speed data based on the target port, ship type, and ship cargo status, and analyzing ship speed guidelines for each of these conditions, safe and appropriate docking and undocking can be achieved for any ship. In the above embodiment, the ship speed reference value is calculated based on the linear distance from the docking and undocking point. However, a ship speed reference value may be set for each finely divided range. For example, the coordinate system illustrated in FIG. 5 may be divided at predetermined intervals in both the X- and Y-axis directions, and a ship speed reference value may be set for each divided cell. Alternatively, a reference value for the ship's speed may be set for a plurality of points along the ship's route (the reference value may be set according to the distance traveled along the route).

[0045] When a ship is docking or undocking, setting a route that takes into account disturbances such as wind and currents leads to energy savings and safety, but it is difficult to appropriately set disturbance conditions in a simulation. Meanwhile, because actual data on routes during docking and undocking is the result of a combination of various disturbance conditions, if past actual data is to be used as a reference, it is necessary to search for actual data under the same conditions. In contrast, this embodiment analyzes the correlation between disturbances and routes based on actual data, making it possible to quickly calculate a reference route that corresponds to the disturbance. Searching for an optimal route that approaches the reference route that corresponds to the disturbance makes it possible to calculate a more realistic and accurate route.

[0046] 12 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a flight assistance system according to an embodiment. The computer 900 includes a CPU 901, a main storage device 902, an auxiliary storage device 903, an input / output interface 904, and a communication interface 905. The flight assistance system 10 described above is implemented in the computer 900. The functions described above are stored in the auxiliary storage device 903 in the form of a program. The CPU 901 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 903, loads it into the main storage device 902, and executes the above processing in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 allocates a storage area in the main storage device 902 in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 allocates a storage area in the auxiliary storage device 903 for storing data being processed in accordance with the program.

[0047] A program for implementing all or part of the functions of the flight assistance system 10 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed to perform processing by each functional unit. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. If a WWW system is used, the term "computer system" also includes a homepage provision environment (or display environment). The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as CDs, DVDs, and USBs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into the computer system. If the program is distributed to the computer 900 via a communication line, the computer 900 may load the program into the main storage device 902 and execute the processing described above. The program may be for implementing part of the functions described above, or may be capable of implementing the functions described above in combination with a program already stored in the computer system.

[0048] As described above, several embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described, but all of these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0049] <Additional Notes> The flight assistance system, flight assistance method, and program described in each embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0050] (1) The operation support system 10 according to the first aspect includes a speed analysis unit that analyzes a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and a support information calculation unit that calculates a route for the ship when docking at the docking point or a route for undocking from the docking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information for that case. This makes it possible to calculate a route and ship maneuvering information that take into account the ship speed based on actual data of the ship speed when docking or undocking.

[0051] (2) A second aspect of the present invention relates to a navigation assistance system 10. The navigation assistance system 10 further includes an output unit that outputs information for supporting navigation of the ship. The support information calculation unit sets time-series maneuvering information for the ship and executes a process for calculating a route for the ship when it arrives at the berthing point or when it departs from the berthing point. When the speed of the ship included in the maneuvering information exceeds the reference value, the system searches for the route that minimizes a value of an evaluation function that includes a function for calculating a penalty according to the magnitude of the exceeded speed. The output unit outputs at least one of the route and the maneuvering information. This makes it possible to calculate an optimal route that takes into account the ship speed when it arrives at or departs from the berthing point.

[0052] (3) A third aspect of the operation assistance system 10 is the operation assistance system of (1), further comprising an output unit that outputs information for supporting the operation of the ship, wherein the speed analysis unit acquires the distance of the ship from the berthing point and calculates a reference value of the speed at the acquired distance, and the output unit outputs the reference value of the speed. This makes it possible to check the speed according to the position of the ship.

[0053] (4) A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a navigation assistance system 10 according to the first aspect, which further includes a disturbance analysis unit that analyzes a correlation between a disturbance and a route of the ship based on a disturbance measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and the support information calculation unit calculates a route for the ship when docking at the docking point or when undocking from the docking point, calculated on the condition that the ship approaches a reference route, which is a route for the ship that corresponds to the disturbance based on the correlation, and ship maneuvering information for that case. This makes it possible to calculate a route that corresponds to a disturbance based on actual data of routes under various disturbances.

[0054] (5) A fifth aspect of the navigation assistance system 10 is the navigation assistance system of (4), wherein the disturbance analysis unit analyzes the correlation between the magnitude of the disturbance in the width direction of the ship and the position information in the width direction of the ship based on the disturbance to the ship and the course of the ship when the disturbance is received. This makes it possible to acquire a database (FIG. 7) that can quickly calculate the position of the ship in the width direction in response to the disturbance.

[0055] (6) A sixth aspect of the ship operation assistance system 10 is the ship operation assistance system of (4) to (5), further comprising an output unit that outputs information for supporting the ship operation, wherein the disturbance analysis unit acquires information about a disturbance to the ship and calculates the reference route according to the disturbance, and the output unit outputs the reference route. This makes it possible to confirm the route according to the disturbance.

[0056] (6) A sixth aspect of the operation assistance system 10 is the operation assistance system of (4) to (5), further comprising an output unit that outputs information for assisting the operation of the ship, wherein the disturbance analysis unit acquires information about a disturbance to the ship and calculates the reference route according to the disturbance, the speed analysis unit acquires the distance from the berthing point to the ship and calculates the reference value of the speed for the acquired distance, and the output unit outputs the reference route and the reference value of the speed according to the distance. This makes it possible to confirm the reference route and the reference value of the ship speed according to the disturbance.

[0057] (8) An operation support method according to an eighth aspect is an operation support method executed by a computer, which analyzes a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and calculates a route when the ship docks at the docking or undocking point or a route when the ship undocks from the docking or undocking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information in that case.

[0058] (9) The program according to the ninth aspect causes a computer to execute a process of analyzing a reference value of speed according to the distance from a docking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and calculating a route when the ship docks at the docking point or a route when the ship undocks from the docking point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at a speed equal to or less than the reference value of speed, and ship maneuvering information in that case.

[0059] According to the above-described navigation support system, navigation support method, and program, it is possible to calculate navigation support information for a ship that takes into consideration how the ship speed is controlled when docking or leaving the berthing.

[0060] 10: Navigation support system 11: Input section 12: Speed ​​analysis section 13: Disturbance analysis section 14: Optimal route calculation section 15: Output section 16: Storage section 900: Computer 901: CPU 902: Main storage device 903: Auxiliary storage device 904: Input / output interface 905: Communication interface

Claims

1. An operation support system comprising: a speed analysis unit that analyzes a reference value of speed according to the distance from a berthing point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is berthed or unberthed; and a support information calculation unit that calculates a route for the ship when it is berthing at the berthing point or a route for the ship when it is unberthing from the berthing point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at or below the reference speed value, and ship maneuvering information for that case.

2. An operation support system as described in claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs information to support the operation of the ship, wherein the support information calculation unit sets time-series maneuvering information of the ship and executes a process to calculate a route for the ship when it docks at the berthing point or a route for the ship when it departs from the berthing point, and in executing the process, when the speed of the ship included in the maneuvering information exceeds the reference value, a route is searched for that minimizes a value of an evaluation function including a function that calculates a penalty according to the magnitude of the exceeded speed, and the output unit outputs at least one of the route and the maneuvering information.

3. An operation support system as described in claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs information to support the operation of the ship, wherein the speed analysis unit acquires the distance from the berthing / unberthing point to the ship and calculates a reference value of the speed at the acquired distance, and the output unit outputs the reference value of the speed.

4. An operation support system as described in claim 1, further comprising: a disturbance analysis unit that analyzes the correlation between the disturbance and the ship's route based on the disturbance measured when the ship is docked or undocking, wherein the support information calculation unit calculates a route when the ship is docked at the docking point or a route when the ship is undocking from the docking point, calculated under the condition that the route is close to a reference route, which is the ship's route according to the disturbance based on the correlation.

5. The navigation support system according to claim 4, wherein the disturbance analysis unit analyzes the correlation between the magnitude of the disturbance in the width direction of the ship and position information in the width direction of the ship based on the disturbance to the ship and the course of the ship when the disturbance is received.

6. An operation support system as described in claim 4 or claim 5, further comprising an output unit that outputs information to support the operation of the ship, wherein the disturbance analysis unit acquires information on disturbances to the ship and calculates the reference route according to the disturbances, and the output unit outputs the reference route.

7. An operation support system as described in claim 4 or claim 5, further comprising an output unit that outputs information to support the operation of the ship, wherein the disturbance analysis unit acquires information on disturbances to the ship and calculates the reference route according to the disturbances, the speed analysis unit acquires the distance from the berthing / unberthing point to the ship and calculates a reference value of the speed for the acquired distance, and the output unit outputs the reference route and the reference value of the speed according to the distance.

8. A navigation support method executed by a computer, which comprises: analyzing a reference value of speed according to the distance from a berthing point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is berthed or unberthed; and calculating a route for the ship when berthing at the berthing point or a route for the ship when unberthing from the berthing point, calculated on the condition that the ship is operated at or below the reference speed value, and ship maneuvering information in that case.

9. A program that causes a computer to execute a process of analyzing a standard value of speed according to the distance from a docking point to the ship based on the speed of the ship measured when the ship is docking or undocking, and calculating the route when the ship is docking at the docking point or the route when the ship is undocking from the docking point, calculated under the condition that the ship is operated at or below the standard speed value, and the maneuvering information in that case.

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