Research into statistical distributions of φ, λ and two-dimensional (2D) position errors of the global positioning system (GPS) enables the evaluation of its accuracy. Based on this, the navigation applications in which the positioning system can be used are determined. However, studies of GPS accuracy indicate that the empirical φ and λ errors deviate from the typical normal distribution, significantly affecting the statistical distribution of 2D position errors. Therefore, determining the actual statistical distributions of position errors (1D and 2D) is decisive for the precision of calculating the actual accuracy of the GPS system. In this paper, based on two measurement sessions (900,000 and 237,000 fixes), the distributions of GPS position error statistics in both 1D and 2D space are analysed. Statistical distribution measures are determined using statistical tests, the hypothesis on the normal distribution of φ and λ errors is verified, and the consistency of GPS position errors with commonly used statistical distributions is assessed together with finding the best fit. Research has shown that φ and λ errors for the GPS system are normally distributed. It is proven that φ and λ errors are more concentrated around the central value than in a typical normal distribution (positive kurtosis) with a low value of asymmetry. Moreover, φ errors are clearly more concentrated than λ errors. This results in larger standard deviation values for φ errors than λ errors. The differences in both values were 25–39%. Regarding the 2D position error, it should be noted that the value of twice the distance root mean square (2DRMS) is about 10–14% greater than the value of R95. In addition, studies show that statistical distributions such as beta, gamma, lognormal and Weibull are the best fit for 2D position errors in the GPS system.

Radio navigation systems (RNSs) are commonly applied in air, land and marine navigation. They are most often used for position determination. However, when comparing the definitions of this concept provided by global organisations, such as the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Maritime Organization (IMO) or International Telecommunication Union (ITU), it should be noted that the definitions presented differ significantly. Due to the ambiguity and numerous contradictions, the RNS classification varies depending on the definition of the term ‘radio navigation’ adopted, which poses serious interpretation problems. This article analyses the concept of radio navigation based on the most important global documents and legal acts on this issue. It points to fundamental differences in the understanding of the term and proposes the adoption of a new, uniform definition for air, land and marine navigation. Based on this definition, the current paper proposes a uniform RNS classification. The proposed definition of the concept of radio navigation and the resulting RNS classification are essential for the understanding of this term to achieve global uniformity and fundamental to the harmonious development of the scientific discipline of navigation. The current proposal should initiate a discussion on the meaning of the concept of radio navigation and the RNS classification.

Whether Henry Ford or someone else gave us this famous quote, ‘If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses’, we may agree that it implies there is a limit to what we can expect from the performance of an existing solution. Science and technology always try to push the boundaries and ‘improve’; improving the quality of our lives or improving the quality of technologies. We, as researchers in the area of navigation, are no exception; we want to improve the quality of navigation services. And there are many ways to do so, and challenges and limitations to those attempts. Some researchers look to improve the accuracy, the reliability, the integrity through different approaches. Some try to reduce or model noise, some try to minimise human error, and some use novel techniques and algorithms for better prediction. Of course, when ‘our horses cannot go any faster’ and there is not much space for improvement for a certain technology or service, researchers may come up with a completely new solution, such as an automobile. Almost all new technologies go through the same exploration period; at the beginning, we want to see how and if it works so we try simple tasks, but then we become more ambitious (or greedier!) and so we introduce it to more difficult challenges until it hits the breaking point. At this point, curious researchers and inventors try to push the boundaries and make the technology better, and if improvement is not possible, they build (invent) a new solution. But what is the ‘quality’ that many of us want to improve? How the quality of a technology or service can be measured in the first place?

To eliminate the effect of ocean currents for optimal path planning for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) in the underwater environment, an intelligent algorithm is designed and proposed in this paper. The algorithm consists of two parts: an artificial potential field-based algorithm that derives the shortest path and avoids collision accidents; and an adjusting function that eliminates the effect of ocean currents. The planning results of the intelligent algorithm are presented in detail, and compared with the conventional algorithm that does not consider the effect of currents. The effectiveness of the optimised path planning method given in this paper is proved.

In recent years the transition of marine navigation to the digital era has been gaining momentum. Implementation of e-Navigation solutions varies from country to country in terms of their priorities, goals, levels and effects. Maritime authorities in Poland have been setting the pace in this transition process, not only in Poland but also in general as a global solution. The most recent example is the planned deployment of a variety of e-Navigation tools in the Vistula Lagoon: from GNSS-RTK Ground-Based Augmentation System, to virtual and synthetic aids to navigation, high-resolution bathymetry and advanced navigational software for piloting. The major objectives of this paper are, first, to summarise recent dynamics in the e-Navigation field, and second, to present a practical implementation of the e-Navigation concept in the Vistula Lagoon area.

Investigating the underlying predictors of speeding behaviour deserves the full attention of research. This study aims to examine the effects of demographic variables on the perceived deterrent mechanisms and to predict speeding behaviour to target appropriate prevention programmes. In this study, 212 randomly selected drivers having a valid car driving licence participated in an online survey. The results revealed that demographic variables influenced drivers’ perceptions towards social and legal sanctions as well as material loss. The model revealed that two sanction-related constructs, that is, legal sanction (b = −0⋅227, P = 0⋅007) and material loss (b = −0⋅218, P = 0⋅005), as well as lax perception towards traffic accident (b = −0⋅176, P = 0⋅025), were the significant predictors of speeding behaviour. These findings suggested that prevention programmes should prioritise young and single drivers. The most effective targeted prevention programmes are highlighted accordingly based on the study results.

This paper presents a methodology to support the decision-making process during the planning of ship operations. The methodology is designed with the aim of identifying and providing the operator with the best Estimated Time of Departure (ETD)–Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) window of opportunity to execute the journey/operation between two predefined locations. To achieve this purpose, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) stability criteria are exploited in the process to formulate an operational safety criterion based on fuzzy reasoning as a function of the METeorological and OCeanographic (METOC) and sailing conditions. This allows for the analysis of the set of Pareto routes computed by a weather routing systems relying on a multi-objective set-up. The proposed methodology is tested in an operational scenario in the Mediterranean Sea.

In recent years, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) precise point positioning (PPP) has become a standard positioning technique for many applications with typically favourable open sky conditions, e.g. precision agriculture. Unfortunately, the long convergence (and reconvergence) time of PPP often significantly limits its use in difficult and restricted signal environments typically associated with urban areas. The modernisation of GNSS will positively affect and improve the convergence time of the PPP solutions, thanks to the higher number of satellites in view that broadcast multifrequency measurements. The number and geometry of the available satellites is a key factor that impacts on the convergence time in PPP, while triple-frequency observables have been shown to greatly benefit the fixing of the carrier phase integer ambiguities. On the other hand, many studies have shown that triple-frequency combinations do not usefully contribute to a reduction of the convergence time of float PPP solutions.

This paper proposes novel GPS and Galileo triple-carrier ionosphere-free combinations that aim to enhance the observability of the narrow-lane ambiguities. Tests based on simulated data have shown that these combinations can reduce the convergence time of the float PPP solution by a factor of up to 2·38 with respect to the two-frequency combinations. This approach becomes effective only after the extra wide-lane and wide-lane ambiguities have been fixed. For this reason, a new fixing method based on low-noise pseudo-range combinations corrected by the smoothed ionosphere correction is presented. By exploiting this algorithm, no more than a few minutes are required to fix the WL ambiguities for Galileo, even in cases of severe multipath environments.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) offers negligible NOx and SOx emissions as well as reductions in CO2 compared with other liquid hydrocarbons. LNG is a significant player in the global energy mix, with a projection of 40% increase in demand for the next two decades. It is anticipated that the expected rise in demand will cause the fleet of LNG carriers (LNGC) to expand. This work concentrates on steam-powered LNGC, which accounted for 47% of the LNGC fleet in 2018. It performs an empirical analysis of continuous monitoring data that provide high levels of accuracy and transparency. The analysis is done on data collected from 40 LNGCs for over a year to estimate the fleet's operational profile, fuel mix and energy performance. The findings of this work are relevant for bottom-up analysis and simulation models that depend on technical assumptions, but also for emission studies such as the upcoming Fourth International Maritime Organization Greenhouse Gases study.

The objective of this research was to investigate the factors of assessment that students undergoing authentic assessment perceived to be significant regarding their academic achievement. This project advanced past research by the authors which found that the academic achievement of seafarer students was significantly higher in a formatively implemented authentic assessment compared with a summative traditional assessment. The academic achievement (assessment scores) was based on the students’ performance in analysing information presented in a real-world context (authentic assessment) as opposed to the analysis of information presented devoid of a real-world context (traditional assessment). Using the data obtained from students undergoing the authentic assessment, this project correlated their perceptions of authenticity for factors of assessment to their scores in the associated task. Stage 1 focused on deriving the factors conceptually from the definition of the authentic assessment by the authors, based on which a perception survey questionnaire was designed. Stage 2 extracted new factors through a factor analysis conducted using the software SPSS. Both stages of investigation found that the factor of transparency of criteria was a significant predictor of the students’ academic achievement.

Precise positioning with low-cost single-frequency global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers has great potential in a wide range of applications because of its low price and improved accuracy. However, challenges remain in achieving reliable and accurate solutions using low-cost receivers. For instance, the successful ambiguity fixing rate could be low for real-time kinematic (RTK) while large errors may occur in precise point positioning (PPP) in some scenarios (e.g., trees along the road). To solve the problems, this paper proposes a method with the aid of additional lane-level digital map information to improve the accuracy and reliability of RTK and PPP solutions. In the method, a digital camera will be applied for lane recognition and the positioning solution from a low-cost receiver will be projected to the digital map lane link. With the projected point position as a constraint, the RTK ambiguity fixing rate and PPP performance can be enhanced. A field kinematic test was conducted to verify the improvement of the RTK and PPP solutions with the aid of map matching. The results show that the RTK ambiguity fixing rate can be increased and the PPP positioning error can be reduced by map matching.

The spatial distribution of collaborative targets and the information collaboration process are two important factors affecting the efficiency of real-time collaborative navigation. Addressing these factors, this paper presents the following work. First, the collaborative communication process between navigation targets is designed and illustrated with an application example. Second, the feature and error condition of the spatial distribution of collaborative targets is analysed. Then, a method based on CGDOP (collaborative geometric dilution of precision) value is proposed for the evaluation of the actual spatial distribution conditions of collaborative targets. Finally, a simulated experiment is conducted to evaluate the collaborative navigation process and the collaboration effect of the collaborative navigation network in different spatial shapes. Overall, the results of this study optimised the observation and application efficiency of navigation data, and improved the stability and reliability of real-time navigation service through multi-target collaborative navigation.

Seafaring, as a traditionally male-dominated industry, continues to have very few female seafarers, with approximately 2% globally being women. This paper draws on the findings of a study that considered both the experiences of women seafarers working in the UK shipping industry and the views of key industry stakeholder representatives, and asks what must be done to improve those experiences? Responses across the industry suggest that all women seafarers will experience some form of harassment during their careers, which has significant implications for their occupational health, safety and wellbeing. These experiences reflect failures of leadership in developing and promoting a safe and inclusive onboard culture. This paper calls for fundamental change within the industry, including improvements in training and leadership to reflect modern seafaring and diversity on board. It also calls for relevant policy and strategic changes to be based on the views of seafarers and their representatives. It concludes that improving the experiences of women on board will improve the occupational health, safety and wellbeing of all seafarers, regardless of gender or any other characteristic or classification.

Oceanus is a hardware and software platform designed and developed to provide useful information to the crew of a racing yacht. The key features of the proposed solution are its reliability, the possibility to extend and customise it, and its context-awareness, which simplifies its usage in an intelligent way. The target users of the system are both beginners who want a navigation aid, but cannot afford the expensive and often overly complicated commercial systems available on the market, and more experienced sailors who can benefit from an open and customisable instrument to study and fine-tune the setup and performance of their sailing boats. Furthermore, Oceanus strives to be as much as possible a low-cost architecture, both in software and hardware requirements.

Developing risk models to predict where collisions between vessels might occur is hindered by the relative sparsity of collisions. To address this, vessel encounters and near-misses have been used as a surrogate indicator of collision risk, referred to as ‘domain analysis’. When constructed empirically, using historical information, previous work is challenged by the multitude of factors which influence the passing distances between vessels. Within this paper, we conduct data mining of big vessel traffic datasets to determine the encounter characteristics across different waterways, vessel types and speeds, weather conditions and other exploratory variables. To achieve this, we utilise a novel approach of machine learning through a random forest algorithm to predict the critical passing distance between vessels in a multitude of conditions. We contribute a far greater range of influencing factors on domain size and shape than previous studies. Finally, we investigate the potential advantages of this approach to assess the spatial risk of collision across a large region. The results help to establish the factors that influence collision risk between navigating vessels and enable empirical maritime risk assessments.

Due to the vast ocean area and limited human and material resources, hydrographic survey must be carried out in a selective and well-planned way. Therefore, scientific planning of hydrographic surveys to ensure the effectiveness of navigational charts has become an urgent issue to be addressed by the hydrographic office of each coastal state. In this study, a reasonable calculation model of hydrographic survey cycle is established, which can be used to make the plan of navigational chart updating. The paper takes 493 navigational charts of Chinese coastal ports and fairways as the research object, analyses the fundamental factors affecting the hydrographic survey cycle and gives them weights, proposes to use the BP neural network to construct the relationship between the cycle and the impact factors, and finally establishes a calculation model of the hydrographic survey cycle. It has been verified that the calculation cycle of the model is effective, and it can provide reference for hydrographic survey planning and chart updating, as well as suggestions for navigation safety.

One critical issue in network real-time kinematic (NRTK) is the interpolation of atmospheric delay for user stations. Some classic interpolation algorithms, such as linear interpolation method (LIM), ignore the strong correlation between tropospheric delay and height factors, and the interpolation accuracy is poor in areas with large height difference. To solve this problem, a troposphere modelling method based on error compensation, namely ECDIM (Error Compensation-Based DIM), is proposed, and this method can be applied to both conventional single Delaunay triangulated network (DTN) and multi-station scenarios. The results of California Real Time Network (CRTN) with large height difference show that compared with LIM, the overall modelling accuracy with ECDIM has been improved by 50.1% to 67.3%, and especially for low elevation satellites (e.g., 10–20 degree), the accuracy is increased from tens of centimetres to a few centimetres. At user end, the positioning error in up direction with LIM has an obvious systematic deviation, and the fix rate of epoch is relatively low. This situation has been improved significantly after using ECDIM. The results of Tianjin Continuously Operating Reference System (TJCORS) show that in areas with small height difference, both methods have achieved high precision interpolation accuracy, and the positioning accuracy with ECDIM in up direction is improved by 21.2% compared with LIM.