Maritime Security and Navigation

All-weather capability is also an important issue in shipping. Added to this is the growing complexity of the manoeuvres of ever larger and more numerous ships, especially in harbours and narrow channels. In contrast to aviation, ships and their surroundings are subject to massive reflections, which make position estimation more difficult. This can lead to situations in which reliable positioning with satellite signals alone is no longer possible. Nevertheless, the captain and pilot always need reliable information. The Institute is therefore working on localisation methods that incorporate other sensors in order to improve position accuracy and obtain error bounds. This work represents an important contribution to standardisation at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Positions are already communicated to ships travelling in the vicinity, but these are not always reliable. The institute is therefore working on synchronisation procedures with radar signals. This means that even unequipped ships and other obstacles can be detected and integrated into a situation picture of the waterway and traffic, which can then be compared with other ships. To this end, a standard is being developed with partners - including the US Coast Guard - for communication between ships and the coast, as well as via satellite.

An important testing ground for trialling our technologies under real operating conditions is the Baltic Sea with the Forschungshafen Rostock and the first worldwide testing ground for trialling R-Mode technology.

Projects from the topic area

Maritime backup system for position, navigation and time

R-Mode Baltic und R-Mode Baltic 2

The project aims to develop a technical system that enables safe ship navigation when established global satellite navigation systems fail due to intentional or unintentional interference. The Baltic Sea is the first operational test area for this technology worldwide, providing R-mode signals in two frequency bands.

Automation of inland shipping

SciPPPer - the lock assistance system

Entering locks is one of the most challenging maneuvers in inland navigation. In the future, ships will be able to enter locks automatically to ensure the safety of people, ships and infrastructure even under difficult conditions. Scientists at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) have developed a technology for high-precision satellite-based positioning of inland waterway vessels.

Links and more information

February 15, 2016

Signal measurements in wind and poor weather off Heligoland

To communicate with one another, ships use radio, light signals or flags –but these channels are not suitable for transmitting large volumes of data. Only expensive satellite communications systems can enable data transfer at higher rates.

Research port Rostock

Here, new systems and procedures for safe and efficient ship navigation are tested under conditions that are as real as possible, and services and assistance systems based on them from the areas of ship navigation and traffic management are developed and validated.