Introduction
The International Maritime Organisation have highlighted an increasing need for AI in the maritime sector from as early as 2017 and have run regulatory scoping exercises focused on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). To work effectively and efficiently they would need to have a high level of autonomy, however this comes with its own risks including:
Security of AI needs to be incorporated throughout the lifecycle of AI development
Potential for AI developed for a specific task is re-purposed for a negative application
Robustness of the AI
Legal, explainability, ethical and bias issues potentially involved
It is currently illegal to sail a fully autonomous ship on UK waters, however, semi-autonomous are allowed. In order, for fully autonomous ships to be legalised, the above issues need to be addressed and AI development/tools across the sector to be regulated and standardised internationally.
Explaining the science
This project focuses on the network and system security aspects of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).
Rather than concentrating on the security of the AI itself, the project examines the security of the hosting environments where the AI operates within autonomous systems.
Additionally, the project explores data visualisation, specifically how cyber and cyber-physical security data impact marine technology and engineering design and implementation.
Project aims
This project aims to offer a comprehensive, holistic view of securing MASS AI and to effectively communicate practical solutions to the relevant stakeholders.
Organisers
Collaborators
Researchers and collaborators
Luke Christison
Research Associate
Avanthika Vineetha Harish
Research Associate
