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12 Platform one April/May 2016 | Unmanned Systems Technology Fleets of unmanned cargo ships could be operated from onshore control centres equipped with wall-sized displays, interactive touchscreen workstations, gesture and voice recognition and virtual reality graphics including holograms, according to a vision for the future of the technology that Rolls-Royce revealed recently in a video. From such centres, teams of seven to 14 people could control fleets spread around the world, said the company, which is leading a collaborative research project involving the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Tampere Unit for Computer Human Interaction in the University of Tampere, also in Finland. Drawing on remote operation experience from industries including aviation, energy, defence and space exploration, the team intends to design and build a demonstrator by the end of the decade. Central to the human-machine interface is Rolls-Royce’s oX operator experience concept, which has clearly drawn on the science fiction film Minority Report . It features a ‘global wall’ display that shows a real-time overview of worldwide shipping traffic to operators while allowing them to interact with individual vessels and their onboard systems. In one scene in the video, an operator launches two small VTOL UAVs from a cargo ship to perform an external visual inspection of the vessel in response to a reported loss of signal from an inertial sensor. The operator selects a standard flight profile and takes control of the UAV cameras via an eye-tracking application. Spotting damage to a data link antenna, the operator confirms that the ship’s navigation system is operating normally and schedules a repair at the next port of call. A second operator uses a ‘local wall’ display to prepare for handover of control to the destination port’s vessel tracking system for approach, entry and docking, also transferring electronic documentation. Rolls-Royce is also set to reveal the findings of separate research into the development of autonomous shipping that it has been carrying out as part of the Advanced Autonomous Water-borne Applications Initiative (AAWI), paid for by the Finnish technology funding agency Tekes. The work has focused on the implications of remote control and autonomy for propulsion, deck machinery and control, aiming to exploit established technology for rapid commercialisation. Using new technology and new approaches to ship design and integration, the aim is to cut operating costs, minimise emissions and enhance vessels’ earning capability. The team has developed a range of autonomous concepts and innovative designs for several ship types. The study is due to run until the end of 2017. Onshore control unveiled Unmanned shipping Rolls-Royce’s ‘global wall’ interface for interacting with vessels