Ship&Offshore | Issue 04/2017
Safer ship manoeuvring
SmartPredict | The launch of SmartPredict, a ship position predicting system, by Finland’s Wärtsilä, marks another step along the road to autonomous vessel manoeuvring. Using proven dynamic positioning algorithms to evaluate forces on a vessel, the company claims that SmartPredict analysis is significantly more accurate than conventional prediction systems which mostly rely only on basic input parameters. ShipPredict therefore reduces the risks associated with manoeuvring, Wärtsilä said. Unlike other systems, the Wärtsilä software uses all of the parameters required for automated control by dynamic positioning systems and adjusts them for the motion characteristics of a specific vessel. Input data include the ship’s current position and heading, speed, rate of turn and all associated accelerations.