This paper considers the feasibility of using augmented reality (AR) as a tool for enhancing visualization in maritime operations to avoid collision in different environmental conditions. According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO 2010), 90% of maritime accidents due to collisions at sea are caused in part by human error. This study investigates the new technology (AR) used to superimpose holographic images onto the real world; now reaching a state of readiness for commercial application. This paper demonstrates the competence of AR technology to serve as a maritime navigational aid. The research explores the viability of improving navigational safety in low visibility by projecting holograms of real-world objects in the same geo-location as the real object to make them “visible”. The paper presents the logical deconstruction of the technical problems and identified solutions, together with results of experiments used to validate the concept and technology readiness for real word maritime application. The paper presents a verified demonstrator; a proposed holographic bridge interface with an innovative way of presenting information using AR technology. Furthermore, it identifies that new technologies offer the opportunity for enhanced operator performances, with the expectation being that this should lead to reduce risk to persons, property, and the environment.

Approximately 12% of the world's oceans are covered by ice. Understanding the physical processes, ecosystem structure, mixing dynamics and the role of these inaccessible environments in the context of global climate change is extremely important. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) play a major role in the potential exploration of these water systems due to the challenges of human access and relatively high associated risk. That said, AUV navigation and localization is challenging in these environments due to the unavoidable growth of navigational drift associated with inertial navigation systems, especially in long range missions under ice where surfacing in open water is not possible. While acoustic transponders have been used, they are time consuming and difficult to deploy. Terrain Relative Navigation (TRN) and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) based technologies are emerging in recent years as promising navigation solutions as they neither require deploying navigational aids or calculating the distance travelled from a reference point to determine location. One of the key challenges of underwater or under-ice image based localization results from the unstructured nature and lack of significant features in underwater environments. This issue has motivated the review presented in this paper, which outlines a potential area of under-ice AUV navigation and localization by combining TRN and SLAM with image matching methods for navigation in featureless environments.

A typical electromechanical drivetrain consists of an electric motor, connecting shafts and gears. Premature failures of these shafts and gears have been reported which are mainly due to fatigue caused by extreme loads and torsional oscillations. Overdesign and passive damping are the common approaches taken to increase the fatigue life. Nevertheless, they increase the system cost, weight and volume. Alternatively, active damping through advanced inverter control of the motor drive has been identified as a promising solution that does not require overdesign or alterations to the existing system. Even with the active damping control, oscillations propagate into the dc side of the power converter and subsequently to the upstream power bus. Generally, a large capacitor or an additional energy storage system is placed to suppress these oscillations. This paper proposes to use the clamping capacitors of the capacitor-clamped inverter as energy storage elements and thereby eliminate the need for a large dc side capacitor or an additional energy storage system. The efficacy of the proposed method has been verified with computer simulations. Simulation results show that the clamping capacitors are capable of containing torsional oscillations within the inverter without passing them to the upstream power bus.