Application of Radar Image Fusion Method to Near-Field Sea Ice Warning for Autonomous Ships in the Polar Region

• Published in: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
• Main Authors: Tsung-Hsuan Hsieh, Bo Li, Shengzheng Wang, Wei Liu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: autonomous ships in the polar region; sea ice warning; radar image fusion; ice radar; Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering; VM1-989; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10030421; https://doaj.org/article/41978164ac6c44ee9bbe744e7544d584

Mastering the real-time dynamics of near-field sea ice is the primary condition to guaranteeing the navigation safety of autonomous ships in the polar region. In this study, a radar image fusion process combining marine radar and ice radar is proposed, which can effectively solve the problems of redundant information and spatial registration during image fusion. Then, using the fused radar images, this study proposes a set of near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning processes applicable to both low- and high-sea-ice-concentration situations. The sea ice risk indexes in these two situations are constructed by using four variables: sea ice area, sea ice grayscale, distance between sea ice and the own-ship, and relative bearing of sea ice and the own-ship. Finally, visualization processing is carried out according to the size of the risk index values of each piece of sea ice to achieve a better near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning effect. According to the example demonstration results, through the radar image fusion process and the set of near-field sea ice risk assessment and warning processes proposed in this study, the sea ice risk distribution in the near-field area of the ship can be well obtained, which provides effective support for the assisted decision-making of autonomous navigation in the polar region.