Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology STL file to be used in a numerical propulsion test or for 3d-printing. Several papers proposed more use of the smartphone or tablet computer for design and inspection. Designers have easy access to design data and design software, surveyors have the calculation results or even the digital twin at their finger tips. Examples were shown. Herbert Koelman from SARC, The Netherlands, enquired: »why would you use the small screen of an iPhone rather than a bigger high resolution screen of a lap top?« The session chairman noted: The young generation sees the world differently from the established – older – generation. COMPIT-Award winner Stefan Harries and conference organizer Volker Bertram incorporate data-driven methods in ship design. A call for collaborative data-driven ship design using open standards closes the paper. This year’s Compit Award went to Stefan Harries for the paper »Appification of Propeller Modeling and Design via CAESES«. The paper describes a webbased application (webApp) for geometric modeling and design of propellers. The app builds on CAESES, a flexible computer aided engineering environment which allows offering selected functionality sub-sets via a standard web browser. For the webApp the expertise of a propeller designer is combined with the design data of the Wageningen B-series. Building on CAESES’ parametric modeling techniques, a propeller, including blades, hub and fillets, is generated with just a handful of inputs. The App provides a watertight geometric model and determines the efficiency. In the final step, the geometry can be downloaded, e.g. as an Photo: Payer The human element Despite the ongoing dramatic developments in naval architecture the Human Element, HE, remains an important factor in risk and safety assessments in ship design and operation. Evaluations of ship accidents have shown that human error is the primary cause in many cases. IMO has reacted by setting up the International Safety Management Code in 1993, mandatory for sea-going vessels since 1998. It takes account of the human element, prescribing a. o. procedures and clear distribution of competence on board and ashore. David Andrews from University College London points out that increased automation on board and employment of artificial intelligence in design and operation may reduce the risk of human error. As the tasks of the crew change and the complexity on board increases, however, a reevaluation of the human factor in the design phase as well as in normal operation is called for. Stefan Harries won the Compit Award for »Appification of Propeller Modeling« Source: Friendship Systems Augmented Reality Stephan Procee and Delft University present their work using Augmented Reality to improve collision avoidance. Based on cognitive work analysis an ecological interface is designed and built for an Augmented Reality application, including the concept of velocity obstacles. A ship domain, SD, is established to derive a realistic criterion for discriminating potentially dangerous targets from the rest. This is the basis to generate acceptable, effective alarms in the augmented reality interface. Studies show that the SD seems to be elliptical, about twice as long as it is wide, sometimes symmetrical around the own ship, sometimes shifted 66 HANSA International Maritime Journal – 155. Jahrgang – 2018 – Nr. 7
Schiffstechnik | Ship Technology towards the bow. The basics of SD for use in the AR interface can be derived from these analyses. This innovative way to visualize the problem space and solution space provides the navigator with real-time information about the possible combinations of course and speed that avoid intrusion into another ship’s protected zone. This results in better situation awareness, leading to less close encounters such as near misses, and fewer collisions. Automated surveys Replacing surveyor inspection by dronebased inspections is promising and has many advantages particularly for tankers and other large vessels. Two fields are important, drone-based inspection and automatic detection of structural defects such as cracks in the structure. Erik Stensrud from DNV GL describes results from an extensive R&D project into autonomous vessel inspections. Two crack detection models are presented using Convolutional Neural Networks, CNN. The first model aims to classify cracks in static images by assigning a label to the image indicating the existence of the crack. Pre-trained classification CNNs were adapted to the model and their learned weights transferred by fine-tuning to the crack classification task. The second model aims at localizing the crack in a pixel-wise manner. It is a fully convolutional network. The two models were evaluated on a dataset which is limited but shows substantial variation in image quality. The study demonstrates the feasibility of machine-learning based crack detection but also shows the challenges of developing highly accurate and robust models for segmenting and classifying cracks. Based on his experience with neural networks and artificial intelligence, Erik Stensrud observed: »The more we learn to know the limitations and dangers of Artificial Intelligence, the more we appreciate the marvel of the human mind.« The audience agreed. Shipping becomes an early mover In the past ten years or so the shipping industry was slow to pick up new trends and possibilities linked to digitalization. Compit 2018 conference strikes us, this is no longer so. The 45 conference papers show that maritime research institutes, shipping and shipbuilding are taking up the new possibilities and challenges created by rapid advancements. The conference was well attended to the end. Denis Morais of SSI summarized his impression at the end of the conference: »This year seemed to be an explosion – in a good way – of hot topics that relate to the shipbuilding and shipping industry. Pretty much every type of technology we have been reading about was well represented at the conference.« Image indicating the existence of a crack »We got the impression, we are at the cutting edge of developments,« as Johannes Hyrynen from VTT, Finland, stated. »In the future, the shipping industry will be radically different from what it is now.« Only a few examples could be described in this synopsis of the conference. Those interested in more details should get hold of the proceedings online at www.compit.info. n Localizing the crack in a pixel-wise manner Photo: Stensrud Photo: Stensrud HANSA International Maritime Journal – 155. Jahrgang – 2018 – Nr. 7 67
