Autonomy testbed for USVs: step towards certification

Commissioned by the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) Singapore and COMMIT, MARIN has developed an initial concept for assessing autonomous navigation systems for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). This marks an important step toward future certification for both defence and civil applications.

Over a 1.5-year trajectory, the partners created a proof-of-concept Autonomy Testbed based on MARIN’s simulation environment. The project focused on:

• Which scenarios are relevant, based on expert judgement from experienced seafarers as well as analysis of a broad set of AIS data for two geographically and nautically distinct areas.
• Which metrics can be applied to quantitatively assess Safe navigation, COLREG compliance, and Operational Performance.
• How to construct a robust simulation based testbed capable of evaluating large numbers of scenarios.
• How two CA Systems score in terms of safety, COLREG compliance, and operational performance, and to what extent these scores are sufficiently specific and explainable.

With the rapid growth of autonomous navigation technologies, the need for a standardized and repeatable evaluation method is increasing. The insights from this project provide a strong foundation for such an approach.

In a follow-up project, the partners aim to further develop the testbed into a broader framework for certification bodies, focusing on the Verification & Validation of autonomous systems — the “virtual captain” on board USVs.

For more information, contact Rolph Hijdra.