Autonomous ships and the COLREGS: Automation Transparency and Interaction with Manned Ships

Abstract

Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships, MASS, are now on the agenda of the International Maritime Organization. In many countries research on autonomous navigation are conducted. A very important piece in this puzzle are the algorithms underpinning collision avoidance. The primary goal is that an autonomous vessel should behave just like any other ship and follow the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, COLREGS. This paper will take a look at the COLREGS and point at some problems facing programmers translating these qualitative rules into program code. The author advocated predictability and automation transparency as an interaction concept. An examples of automation transparency in the MASS case is also given.