Mixed Reality Testing for Maritime Vessels: Integrating Simulation and Physical Vessels for System Verification

Kurzfassung

Testing autonomous or highly automated navigation and control systems in the maritime domain, especially in near-collision scenarios, poses safety challenges. While conventional testing methods offer an approach for testing, they are limited in their ability to safely evaluate behaviour in critical situations. To address this problem the paper presents a mixed reality testing architecture designed to enhance the safety by enabling bidirectional interaction between virtual and physical elements. Using this architecture, tests can be carried out without endangering the crew and the vessel. The architecture presented in this paper is evaluated by testing a collision avoidance functionality from an autonomous track control system. The System under Test was evaluated in collision scenarios with simulated traffic showcasing its limitations. Overall, the paper demonstrates that mixed reality testing can enhance safety and efficiency of maritime system validation and provides a base for future work involving complex scenarios or multiple traffic participants.