RAIDAR Next minutes prediction system for ocean waves and vessel motions based on physics-informed neural networks

Ocean wave dynamics are the principal challenge in all operations at sea. Marine operations such as dynamic positioning (DP), offshore crane operations, subsea and wind farm installation and service, and sea transportation are complex operations that are highly sensitive to ocean wave dynamics. The main objective of this project is to use physics-informed neural networks to further develop and improve next minutes predictions of ocean waves, wave forces and vessel motions to increase accuracy, reliability and ahead prediction time for higher and more complex seas, using the standard onboard X-band navigation radars on the vessel.

We will develop the world’s first next minutes wave and vessel motion prediction system, only using existing navigation radars, thoroughly tested and ready to be commercialized into new products and services.

By developing auto calibration only software installation will be needed.

To check and further develop the next minutes predictions, the incoming waves will be measured by the MIROS wave radar already installed in the bow of the DOF vessels Skandi Africa and Skandi Vega.

The corresponding vessel motions will be measured by the onboard Kongsberg MRU (Motion Response unit) system.

NORCE has in cooperation with MIT Ocean Research already developed the RIMARC (Radar IMAge ReConstruction and wave prediction) system capable of forecasting deterministic (i.e. phase-resolved) wave and vessel motions in real-time 4-8 minutes in advance from standard onboard X-band navigation radars for DP (Dynamic positioning) standstill operations.

The even greater challenge in this project is to predict next minutes waves and vessel motion also for free sailing operations.

The system can in the future be further developed to rapidly learn by physics based machine learning how to operate a vessel in an optimum way in high sea states, both regarding safety and performance. This is a necessary step towards development of autonomous vessels and operations.