Researchers design intelligent maritime surveillance system

Spanish researchers have designed an "intelligent" application for maritime surveillance that uses sensors and a pinch of artificial intelligence to analyze traffic data.

Scientists in the Applied Artificial Intelligence Group at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid designed the system for Núcleo CC, which develops surveillance systems for the maritime and aeronautic sectors. The first prototype will be deployed in Cape Verde, Africa.

The system unifies complementary data from different types of sensors -- in the case of Cape Verde, radar and AIS (Automatic Identification System), which offers location data for ships -- to gain context of what's happening in the water.

That context allows for improved security in key maritime areas, such as the entrance and exit of a commercial port. It's somewhat like the system air traffic controllers use to picture what's happening in the air, the researchers said.

The researchers say their prototype can monitor 2,000 identifiable objects (including vessels large and small) and has the capacity to process data from up to 10 sensors in one second's time. The hope: that the system will prevent collisions or illegal behavior in the harbor.

With the sea under their belt, the scientists are now looking to bring their technology to the field of robotics, with applications such as unmanned vehicle navigation, artificial vision or environmental intelligence systems.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com