An evaluation of low-level automation navigation functions upon vessel traffic services work practices

Recently, the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) coverage has expanded to include coastal areas following the increased attention on vessel traffic safety. However, it has increased the workload on the VTS operators. In some cases, when the traffic volume increases sharply during the rush hour, the VTS operator may not be aware of the risks. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a new method to recognize ship movement anomalies automatically to support the VTS operator’s decision-making. The proposed method generated traffic pattern model without any category information using the unsupervised learning algorithm.. The anomaly score can be calculated by classification and comparison of the trained model. Finally, we reviewed the experimental results using a ship-handling simulator and the actual trajectory data to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.

Maritime accident prediction in busan port using machine learning: An integrated approach with maritime accident reports and VTS data

This study presents enhanced collision detection model in a Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) area. The proposed detection method of collision situations is based on the assumption that VTS station is provided with passage plans of all the vessels in a monitored area. By using an early detection model for prediction of possible collision situations, VTS stations could switch from the area-monitoring concept to the passage-monitoring system. An early detection model of collision risks in a VTS area uses vessels’ dynamic characteristics as inputs (vessels’ position, course over ground and speed), and delivers prediction of their future positions as output. In order to achieve the desired accuracy, the model takes into the account the intended course alterations and the impending environmental loads. The model is able to provide the outputs as early as the passage plans are submitted to a VTS monitored area. Hence, when discussing model’s capability for early detection of collision situations, improved VTS operating standards could be developed in order to achieve safer passages through enhanced collision avoidance strategies. Simulation results clearly show the advantages of the proposed model as a decision support tool for a VTS operator when combining passage plans with the analysis of environmental loads.

The Istanbul Strait is a challenging waterway for maritime traffic due to its rough topology, moderate to severe environmental conditions, and heavy local traffic. In particular, a total of 232 maritime accidents took place there between 2000 and 2011. In this study, generic fuzzy analytic hierarchy processes were used to assess the risk perception of stakeholders in the Istanbul Strait, including ship captains, maritime pilots and Vessel Traffic Services operators. These risk perceptions were then compared to the statistical maritime accident data, revealing a fundamental discrepancy between the risk perception and statistical data. Specifically, the area of the Straight with the highest number of accidents is perceived as relatively low-risk, whereas areas perceived as high-risk experience a lower number of accidents. Our results have implications for stakeholders as well as government agencies responsible for the safety of the Straight.

There are enormous challenges in the Istanbul Strait- one of the most important, congested and narrow waterways in the world - from the view point of risk determination and risk mitigation for the local traffic. Previously several traffic parameters such as; traffic volume for local vessels, traffic flow and potential encounters of local traffic, in addition to the possibility of collision, were investigated in order to determine the degree of dangers in the southern entrance of the Istanbul Strait. Furthermore, risky zones were also determined in this waterway. On the basis of the results of those, a group of expert was surveyed. These experts were pilots, Vessel Traffic Services Operators (VTS-O), Local Traffic Vessel Captains and Master Mariners who had several experience of navigation through the Istanbul Strait. In order to assess experts perceptions of danger and to propose further studies based on this survey. The questionnaire was analyzed by using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program version 13.0. Finally, some differences and/or shares on risk perceptions of expert in the Istanbul Strait are considered.

Vessel traffic service systems (VTS systems) have been established, throughout the world, in areas of high traffic density. These systems, operating with such tools as VHF radiotelephony, land-based radar installations and ship's data processing, gather information to respond to collision and grounding danger, to organize traffic flow and assist allied activities. It is expected that VTS systems should effectively reduce the number of collisions in the VTS area. But efforts for collision avoidance can only be successful if the VTS operator in front of the shoreside radar screen is precisely instructed as to which measurements he has to make to identify a risk-of-collision situation. Uncertainties about the direction in which ships must take evasive action arise in VTS areas, where ships are free to engage in encounters.

The growing adoption of autonomous technologies in the maritime industry creates a critical challenge for safe navigation: a communication gap between Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) and human operators, both on conventionally crewed vessels and in shore-based control centers like Vessel Traffic Services (VTS). This gap is particularly pronounced in voice-based Very High Frequency (VHF) radio communication, which remains essential for mutual intent-sharing, conflict resolution, and coordinated navigation in a mixed-fleet environment. This paper introduces a forward-looking vision for an artificial intelligence (AI) powered framework aimed at achieving fully digitized maritime radio communication for MASS. The proposed system is structured around four tightly integrated modules: Sensory Input Stage, Text and Context Extraction, Contextualization and Reasoning - LLM Agent Loop, and Response Generation and Broadcasting. These components work cohesively to transform traditional voice radio exchanges into a machine-interpretable and protocol-compliant communication pipeline. This paper presents a comprehensive exposition of the framework’s architecture, accompanied by a structured development roadmap and appropriate evaluation methodologies for each module. It also introduces a novel concept of tiered autonomy levels for digital radio communication, emphasizing the critical role of human-in-the-loop supervision. By enabling autonomous ships to interpret, process, and respond to VHF transmissions in real time, this framework not only enhances operational efficiency but also contributes to the safe and standardized integration of autonomous technologies within the complex maritime ecosystem.

As the construction of coal-fired power bases in China accelerates,the amount of ecological damage and environmental pollution caused by this and their subsequent operation and servicing becomes more serious. It should be a priority to establish the ecological and environmental risks posed by coal-fired power bases,to assess their impact on ecosystems and human health,and to develop reasonable strategies for the protection,governance,and restoration of the environment. A sustained and methodical program of ecological and environmental monitoring is the basis for solving these problems. However,currently,the monitoring of technical systems still presents several operational shortcomings,such as low levels of automation,high operating costs,and poor spatial and temporal coverage. At the same time,significant developments in the Internet of Things are improving both the production efficiency of data collection and the way in which data are captured. Accordingly,we believe that the Internet of Things could be one of the more effective ways of solving the problems inherent in the current monitoring of technical systems,in respect of the sensing layer,transport layer,supporting layer,application layer,and client layer. For the study area in the current work,we used Xilinguolemeng in InnerMongolia,an area that is rich in coal resources and one of the principal regions for coal-fired power base operation in China. To obtain the reference information regarding the problems of the atmospheric environment,meteorological data,surface water,groundwater,and soil environment,we needed to deploy the appropriate number of relevant sensors around the study area,after having established the principles for selecting the most suitable sensors. The data were transferred to the central platform via wireless sensor networks and the general packet radio service. Then,we analyzed these data and determined the state of the ecological systems and environmental pollution. At the same time,the platform provided the following functions: monitoring of environmental quality,environmental impact assessment,environmental management and decision-making support, ecological efficiency analysis, and environmental emergency response. The government,especially the environmental protection department,and the company can both easily obtain ecological and environmental information using a technical system based on the Internet of Things. The advantages of the Internet of Things system are as follows. First,it provides a large amount of high-quality data on the ecology and environment because of the avoidance of errors caused by manual operation. Second,the data are available for analysis in near real time. This means that problems can be identified quickly and that data are handled online,such that the builders and managers can respond quickly,helping in the implementation of ecological restoration and environmental protection policies and measures. Finally,the cost of monitoring and management is reduced. Therefore,technical systems for the ecological and environmental monitoring of national large-scale coal-fired power bases,which are based on the Internet of Things,can satisfy the requirements for providing high-quality ecological and environmental data at relatively low cost. Because of the large number of coal-fired power bases,ecological and environmental monitoring based on the Internet of things,offers the advantages of low cost,high precision,high universality,and widespread appeal.

In the near future, vehicles will gradually gain more autonomous functionalities. Drivers’ activity will be less about driving than about monitoring intelligent systems to which driving action will be delegated. Road safety, therefore, remains dependent on the human factor and we should identify the limits beyond which driver’s functional state (DFS) may no longer be able to ensure safety. Depending on the level of automation, estimating the DFS may have different targets, e.g., assessing driver’s situation awareness in lower levels of automation and his ability to respond to emerging hazard or assessing driver’s ability to monitor the vehicle performing operational tasks in higher levels of automation. Unfitted DFS (e.g., drowsiness) may impact the driver ability respond to taking over abilities. This paper reviews the most appropriate psychophysiological indices in naturalistic driving while considering the DFS through exogenous sensors, providing the more efficient trade-off between reliability and intrusiveness. The DFS also originates from kinematic data of the vehicle, thus providing information that indirectly relates to drivers behavior. The whole data should be synchronously processed, providing a diagnosis on the DFS, and bringing it to the attention of the decision maker in real time. Next, making the information available can be permanent or intermittent (or even undelivered), and may also depend on the automation level. Such interface can include recommendations for decision support or simply give neutral instruction. Mapping of relevant psychophysiological and behavioral indicators for DFS will enable practitioners and researchers provide reliable estimates, fitted to the level of automation.

The rapid development of e-commerce is pushing the profound transformation of China’s traditional operations mode of logistics; wherein the logistics service of “Last-mile” carrying and delivery, which faces the end consumers, is continually innovated, showing a great development potential. Under the support of the rapid development of e-commerce, the “Last-mile Delivery” service mode of China’s e-commerce logistics is increasingly diversified, and has become an important component of urban community service and the citizens’ livelihood. This chapter addresses the development background, the characteristics, the service modes, the development status, the existing problems and development trend, and other relevant topics of the “Last-mile Delivery” service of China’s e-commerce logistics. Section 11.1 presents the concept of the “Last-mile Delivery” service of e-commerce logistics and its background factors of drawing much social attention; meanwhile, it discusses the chief characteristics of the “Last-mile Delivery” service of e-commerce logistics. Section 11.2 introduces the major service modes of the “Last-mile Delivery” of e-commerce logistics from four aspects: innovation services in express enterprises, innovation services in platforms, professional services of specific commodities, and professional services in specific regions. Section 11.3 describes the development status of the “Last-mile Delivery” service of China’s e-commerce logistics and its existing problems, covering the continually expanded scale, the intensive innovation of service modes, the gradually formed market segments, and the constantly improved professional services. Section 11.4 presents the development trend of the industry, emphasizing issues on cross-border cooperation, service integration, professionalization, localization, adoption of new technology, energy conservation, and environmental protection.

Interacting with the Web of Things

According to the research plan, VNIIDAD continues to develop Methodological Recommendations for the Rules for the Organization of storage, Acquisition, Accounting and Use of documents from the archival fund of the Russian Federation and other archival documents in government agencies, local governments and organizations (hereinafter referred to as the Rules). This work is not only applied in nature, but also allows for a new understanding of some theoretical approaches to the implementation of traditional archival and record-keeping processes. Special attention should be paid to the process of transferring documents from the office to the archive, which is cross-functional and has its own peculiarities in terms of working with electronic documents. In this regard, the main question raised by the author in the title of the article is related to the definition of the moment when the document becomes archived. For the first time, a rule appeared in the Rules that a document is considered archived from January 1, the year following when the document is completed (executed). The author draws attention to several aspects that do not allow this solution to be considered optimal. Firstly, in the Rules, the legislative norm regarding the beginning of the calculation of the retention period of documents has been transferred to the status of the document, its definition as archival. This contradicts the established practice in record keeping and archiving of dividing responsibility for document storage depending on the place of its storage. In accordance with this rule, the document becomes archived "de jure", not being "de facto". Secondly, the archaic speech phrase "document completed by paperwork" turned out to be updated in the regulatory documents. The author examines the conditions of its appearance and draws attention to the impact of working with documents in the electronic document management system on the transformation of traditional office operations. As a result, the document turns out to be associated with the case number according to the nomenclature of cases from the moment of its inclusion in the system, and not as a result of its execution, i.e. completion of work with it in management. Thirdly, the connection of documents established during registration with the case number according to the nomenclature of cases gives rise to a false definition of almost every case in record management as transitional, since by no means all documents are executed by the end of the year, and the case is completed by record management. All these minor inconsistencies are caused by the transformation of office processes in the context of the use of information technology and do not allow us to effectively ensure the requirements of the Rules when transferring electronic documents to the archive. As a basic solution, the author suggests transferring electronic documents from the EDMS to the storage system in real time, immediately after their execution in the office. This solution will make it possible to fully realize the advantages of information technology over traditional approaches.

Proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cell (PEMFC) deployment is presently limited by the high material cost of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts at the cathode. Developing low-cost, earth-abundant alternatives for use in acidic environments presents a material stability challenge, especially for long-term device operation. Platinum (Pt)-based materials are used in typical commercial PEMFC cathode formulations due to their simultaneous high performance and long-term stability despite the prohibitively high material cost. Developing lower-cost, longer-life catalyst materials based on earth abundant transition metals can accelerate the adoption of PEMFC technology. The impact of potential, current density, and local microenvironment has been shown to cause degradation of non-Pt materials but standard ex situ measurements can only probe surface restructuring and cumulative dissolution after operation. Material-specific degradation mechanisms that are strong functions of the operating conditions cannot be ascertained without in situ quantification of material degradation under PEMFC-relevant conditions. Information about the degradation pathways of these non-precious catalysts can assist with material design for devices; however, most efforts towards developing an in-situ understanding of PEMFC cathode catalyst degradation under operating conditions are generally limited to Pt-based materials. Extensive in situ characterization has revealed Pt-specific mechanistic information about corrosion pathways as well as conditions that exacerbate Pt alloy leaching. It has been hypothesized that the Pt degradation processes are related to oxide formation under potential cycling. With this critical in-situ information, Pt conditioning protocols have been developed to enhance material lifetime; however, investigations on non-precious materials are less common. Insights into non-precious catalyst degradation in PEMFC operating conditions are not as well-established but could be essential in enabling low-cost materials for commercial use. There is a need for more insights into a vast array of materials which necessitates the development of faster, preferably benchtop techniques for degradation analysis.In this work, we use an in situ electrochemical flow cell assembly and coupled it with an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) to quantify the loss of material in real time for several non-Pt materials under reaction conditions. The flow cell is fed by a peristaltic pump at 2.5 mL/min of gas-saturated acidic electrolyte for optimal mass transport. The cell has a three-electrode configuration with a compression-mounted metal foil working electrode, silver/silver chloride reference electrode, and Pt counter electrode downstream of other components. We evaluate a variety of transition metals across the spectrum of ORR activity: palladium, silver, nickel, copper, manganese, and cobalt. Each metal is tested under oxygen and nitrogen saturation in five electrolytes of identical pH: perchloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and hydrobromic acid. This setup allows for nearly real time measurement of ORR kinetics and in situ element-specific dissolution rates as a function of time. With careful design of experimental conditions and controlled variables, we are able to suggest mechanisms of degradation with specific reference to conditions under which material loss occurred such as high/low potential, oxygen-saturated/nitrogen-saturated electrolyte, or faradaic/non-faradaic current. We find some metals are stable under nitrogen-saturated electrolyte but corrode more under oxygen-saturated electrolyte only while ORR active. Furthermore, other metals are stable in nitrogen saturated electrolyte at all tested electrochemical conditions but unstable under oxygen saturated electrolyte but only outside the ORR range, implying that cathodic faradaic processes might be stabilizing the surface at low potentials. This stabilization where a thermodynamically unstable material (based on its Pourbaix diagram) exhibits greater immunity while performing ORR in certain electrolytes could inform the development stability mechanisms that direct the design of next generation, non-precious PEMFC cathode catalyst materials. With combined in situ catalyst stability analysis in five pH 1 electrolytes, we can recommend specific conditions for optimizing activity and stability based on the potential range of operation and the electrolyte composition/saturation. We can also distill mechanistic insights from these experiments by creating models that validate causes of catalyst degradation. These models are built using “graphical causal modeling”, which is a mathematical field that goes beyond correlative predictions by venturing into causal inference. We hope to expand this framework into other electrocatalytic reactions of interest. The in-situ ICP-MS electrochemical flow cell setup exhibits promise for accelerating materials stability analysis for enabling next generation Pt-free ORR electrocatalysts through practical experiments and direct comparability to established electrochemical techniques.

Introduction: In this conceptual paper, we reflect on the emergence of citizens as active participants to care integration within Western, highly professionalized care systems. We explore how this development challenges established ways of conceptualizing and practicing integrated care. Ranging from professionals’ alignment with lay caregivers to citizens taking up formal ownership of services, citizen participation is often presented as a new frontier for care integration. Still, scholarly insight into the organizational implication of integration with and by citizens (instead of ‘merely’ for citizens) remains limited. Theory/Methods: First, we select and review key publications in the field of integrated care, analyzing how citizens and communities are positioned within the process of integration. Second, we draw on literature on citizen involvement to analyze the tension between the logics by which professional services are organized and the rationale(s) for involving citizens. We draw on our own empirical studies and examples from the literature to illustrate the areas in which such tensions surface. Findings: First, we discuss three reasons why citizens’ role in integrating services deserves more attention within the field of integrated care. These include (1) citizens’ life-world perspective, enabling them to contribute to the normative frameworks that guide service integration by prioritizing which issues ‘matter’ at the local level or for particular user groups; (2) citizens’ ability to identify whether the efforts of multiple organizations and professionals give rise to barriers to service access and quality at the individual user level; and (3) citizens’ prominent role as ‘lay’ providers of care, who are at risk of being ignored or marginalized when integration is approached as a predominantly professional or managerial endeavor. Second, we explore how these three incentives for involving citizens can be at odds with professional or managerial principles that often dominate how services are organized and integrated. We discuss five key areas of competing principles or perspectives—each potentially legitimate when considered in isolation—that become increasingly salient and require careful consideration when citizens assume a more prominent role in processes of integration: Competing ‘democratic’ and ‘instrumental’ rationales for involvement Competing claims of who represents ‘the community’ Different ways of valuing and utilizing professional knowledge and lay knowledge Trying to be ‘in control’ of work processes while flexibly aligning these with and to citizens Disparate perspectives on professional care organizations’ raison d’etre Discussion/Conclusion/Lessons Learned: We discuss how these five areas of tension force us to reconsider established assumptions that often guide efforts at care integration. While highlighting the potential value of citizen involvement, we also debunk the myth of citizens as the panacea for all challenges to service integration; particularly remaining critical of opportunistic, tokenistic or instrumental attempts at fostering their involvement. Limitations/Future Research: Our paper outlines a broad agenda to recalibrate the position of citizens and communities in integrated care. Future research needs to elaborate each of these five areas in more depth, developing our insights as well as practical tools for supporting constructive citizen involvement.

With the diverse concepts of professionalism in the changing society, many professions are striving to attain professionalism to meet the patron demands. In Macao’s gaming industry, the structural changes, such as the strategic emphasis on non-gaming development, have intensified competition for patrons, particularly amid the growing casino development across Asia. Although professional service can be one solution to enhance the gaming industry, there has been scant research on professionalism in the gaming industry. This study investigates the perspectives of casino employees at different hierarchical levels in Macao and proposes a theoretical framework describing four conceptual components of professionalism, including work initiative, technical competence, service integration, and contextual awareness, thereby helping them develop into professionals. Given the under-researched nature of professionalism, this study adopts a constructivist grounded theory approach to collect data from qualitative interviews with casino employees. Despite the preponderant economic importance of the industry, some employees have left the industry due to their job stress and exhaustion. This study proposes developing career paths, implementing interventions to address their work-related stress and exhaustion, organizing group activities, and establishing a professional accreditation mechanism to enhance industry professionalism.