There is a push in some quarters of the maritime community to replace physical Aids to Navigation (ATONs)&#;what I will refer to as &#;live&#; ATONs to signify their physical nature&#;with virtual ATONs which exist only on a cloud-based navigation system accessible solely by a computer screen. Indeed, the practice of electronic positioning of live ATONs has segued into a push for the electronic replacement of live ATONs. A major component of this push is the cost evaluation of virtual versus live buoys, and the significant expense of continuing to provide Aid to Navigation Teams (ANTs) for the maintenance and upkeep of physical ATONs. Part of the pro-virtual ATONs narrative is that as buoys are less reliable than fixed structures, and only a small percentage of buoys have been converted to fixed structures, that the whole conundrum can be solved by virtual ATONs (see Armacost :17). Virtual ATONS would go a long way to eliminating the need for aid servicing. This is a powerful narrative which must be met with an equally strong counternarrative.
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By ATONs were being positioned electronically, and the use of electronic navigation methods (E-nav) to augment buoys was also raised as a possibility (Armacost :ix). Radio navigation aids laid the groundwork, in combination with E-Nav, for virtual ATONs. However, even though the development of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and Digital Geographic Positioning Systems (DGPS) used simulations of human mariners, and were not developed with the pure machine-environment interface in mind, Armacost wrote that &#;...the advent of DGPS and &#; ECDIS &#; will likely reduce the need for visual aids&#; (Armacost :xi, 45, my emphasis). Still, the assessment of the time was that these electronic charting systems and DGPS served well to augment traditional navigation, not to replace it (Armacost :60, Stich and Webb ). It is clear, therefore, that live ATONs should be integrated with electronic cloud-based navigation, not replaced by it.
Live ATONs are a necessity in a navigation paradigm which incorporates &#;looking out the window&#;: &#;... aids to navigation are in fact more effective in typical visual surroundings than they are with no other objects in the scene&#; (Armacost :24). Coast Guard navigation modeling simulations are all based on the premise of an onboard mariner interacting with live ATONs. This is how the Waterways Design Manual (WDM) was developed (Armacost :25). The sense perceptions of a living mariner are key to the whole process of navigation. &#;The use and effectiveness of aids to navigation depend critically on how the mariner obtains and processes the information from the aids. The cognitive and perceptual aspects are critical&#; (Armacost :31). Replacing the navigational elements of line-of-sight and &#;looking out the window&#; with a purely cloud/screen-based ATONs system would be very disruptive to mariners&#; cognition and perception.
The main objection to the continued use of live ATONs revolves around maintenance costs. However, even though maintenance of live ATONs involves greater amounts of time, money, and personnel, the degradation of traditional seamanship which would come from the implementation of virtual ATONs is not worth the cost savings, despite how enticing this is in the climate of the current administration. Issues of cybersecurity alone do not support a hypothetical cost-benefit analysis, to say nothing of the increased risk of collisions from overreliance on a screen-based navigation paradigm that would further reduce time spent &#;looking out the window.&#; More qualitative research is needed for aid system performance measures. A qualitative approach will reveal the gap between mariners&#; willingness and ability to convert to a complete virtual ATONs system and the purported cost savings.
The ATON-servicing vessels which will most likely continue to be needed in the event of the inexorable push towards virtual ATONs are called WLMs. They operate in riskier coastal waters. WLIs, which service ATONs in higher risk inland waterways, will also be needed. Replacing live ATONs with virtual ones in waters such as these upends the traditional maritime practices needed to navigate them. The entire maritime educational paradigm and navigational skill set would be confounded. If live ATONs are replaced with a completely virtual system, a &#;cognitive analysis&#; will reveal the need for retraining of the entire maritime community (see Armacost :31). How cost-effective is this? Successful mariners use electronic displays to augment traditional navigation, not replace it (Stich and Webb, ).
From a purely monetary perspective, it is tempting to think in terms of eliminating the maintenance costs associated with servicing live ATONs. One factor in the push to overturn traditional maritime navigation is that technology is advancing too rapidly for mariners to be able to effectively integrate it into the traditional skill set. Again however, cybersecurity issues alone do not support the prospect of replacing traditional navigation based on live ATONs with a cloud-based system of virtual waterways populated by virtual ATONs. As recently as June , the MAERSK shipping line had its electronic navigation systems hacked, throwing global shipping into a crisis for several days. Were the entire ATON system purely virtual/cloud-based, such an event would have been catastrophic.
References:
Armacost, Robert L.
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Historical Summary of Aids to Navigation Analyses, Volume I. Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems, University of Central Florida. U.S. Department of Transportation, United States Coast Guard. Report no. CG-D-31-98, I.
Stich, Bethany, and Peter Webb
Electronic Navigation: The Future of Waterborne Shipping. Transportation Review Board: Marine Group Part AW: Standing Committee on Ports and Channels.
During IALA Course level 2 with certification, organized by the Chilean Navy, Hidrovía training academy and MSM, use of virtual AIS Aton emerged on numerous occasions.
As Mr. Omar Fritz Eriksson ( Deputy Secretary-General & Dean of World-Wide Academy) summed up, the position of IALA and IMO is that Virtual signals are useful for temporary situations (wrecks, stranding,..) or situations in which is impossible to imply physical aids to navigations. The use of them should not replace physical signals. Although generate virtual signals instead of physical aids may be economically may be attractive, we cannot forget that vessels (users of waterways) must have the necessary equipment to visualize those virtual signals and there is also the probability of transmission troubles ( signals cuts, variation of position..) that affect to the operability and efficiency of those virtual signals. So, virtual signals must consider only for unforeseen temporary situations, locations in which we cannot allow to install a physical Aton, where the navigation conditions are changing every day or every week, using them as support from real signals. It is very important to highlight that fact that is not recommended the use of virtual signals without real Aton support in locations like port entry with high traffic volume.
To get more information, kindly refer IALA 0-143 Recommendation and IALA G Guideline provision of virtual AtoN.
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