Advanced Assistance Systems
For safe and precise vessel positioning and situational awareness.
When the situation demands precise manoeuvres, relying on GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) alone is not enough. Alternative ultra-reliable positioning technologies become a necessity. Wärtsilä Smart Sensors are the digital outlook that you can always depend on.
We use advanced laser, radar, and camera technology to provide both local position information (where the vessel is relative to its surroundings) as well as situational awareness (what is around the close vicinity of the vessel).
Our sensor portfolio brings together technologies that assist the crew with challenging manoeuvres. For instance, offshore vessels that rely on dynamic positioning (DP), cruise and cargo ships entering busy ports and harbours, ferries that have autodocking enabled and harbour crafts performing technically demanding and high-speed manoeuvres. Smart Sensor technologies can assist operations in improving safety, provide precise position, situational awareness, and hazard detection in an increasingly crowded marine environment.
Wärtsilä’s patented laser sensors provide precise positioning information for autodocking and DP operations. Technologically, they are the most advanced and innovative solution available, making them the industry’s number one choice.
The patented laser technology, CyScan AS, uses a reflective target on the quayside or asset to calculate its position. Currently, it is the only laser sensor in the market to provide positive target identification. This means it can ignore reflections from all shiny and reflective surfaces for the safest navigation. CyScan AS can also provide the global position through a feature called CyScan GeoLock. With a range of over 2 km, it can be used on both approaches to the asset or quayside and close-range manoeuvres, where knowing a vessel’s precise position is critical.
Yet another patented laser technology from the Wärtsilä Voyage stable, SceneScan, is also the only targetless laser sensor available in the market right now. It is used in inland waterways and DP operations for precise positioning. It operates like the CyScan AS. However, it does not use reflector targets. SceneScan tracks reflections from artificial structures within the sensor field of view and measures their position relative to the scene. It provides position information when vessels pass under bridges (where GNSS is unreliable) and for station keeping during DP operations, including offshore wind.
Wärtsilä Radar Sensors provide both position information and situational awareness. With 9GHz (RadarScan and RadaScan View) and 24GHz (RangeGuard and RS24) options, there is a radar sensor to meet the requirements of every critical manoeuvre, whether it is detecting small objects in proximity or measuring the distance to another ship or DP operations.
The 9 GHz RadaScan View accurately measures the range, heading and bearing in relation to the powered responders mounted on the asset. The all-weather system also enables automated approach and position keeping with respect to a rig or another vessel. The rotating scanner enables the system to display a traditional radar image on the ‘View Dashboard.’ This means that DP Operators can see responders in relation to the structure on a single screen — an extremely useful feature for safe operation in low visibility conditions.
Object and hazard detection is essential for safer operations. The 24 GHz RangeGuard system measures the distance to the nearest object in its field of view (110° by 11°). Comparable to parking sensors found in the automotive industry, RangeGuard sensors can be installed around a vessel to provide alerts about incoming hazards in its close vicinity.
RangeGuard Monopole is the DP version of this sensor and is designed for offshore wind applications. Service Operation Vessels (SOV’s) approach a wind tower without reliance on physical targets. RangeGuard Monopole calculates the position relative to the centre of the monopole. This is very repeatable and means that vessel turnaround times are decreased, and the vessel can complete more missions per day. Wind farm owners also reduce cost by no longer having to install or maintain targets.
The RS24 system is designed to provide high levels of situational awareness in densely populated marine environments. The RS24 Sensor is a high-speed, high-resolution FMCW K-band dome radar. This K-band (24GHz) radar has an inherently higher resolution than traditional navigation radars, which operate in the S or X bands. This means that it can detect objects as small as kayaks or buoys. In addition, unlike navigation radars, it does not have a blind zone, which means it can also detect objects from 1m away. It can output radar images both to the RS24 Dashboard and third-party applications that support ASTERIX CAT-240 data format.
Wärtsilä is the only company to provide a complete targetless sensor solution for DP operations. We offer both laser (Wartsilä SceneScan) and radar (Wärtsilä RangeGuard) sensors — different modes of operation to ensure optimum redundancy. With these, targets are no longer required on the wind turbine or oil platform. This means that the asset owner no longer has to supply or maintain them, and the vessel is completely independent of the asset. Safety issues associated with poor target placement, low-quality targets and false reflections are also eliminated.
Yet another patented laser technology from the Wärtsilä Voyage stable, SceneScan, is also the only targetless laser sensor available in the market right now. It is used in inland waterways and DP operations for precise positioning. It operates like the CyScan AS. However, it does not use reflector targets. SceneScan tracks reflections from artificial structures within the sensor field of view and measures their position relative to the scene. It provides position information when vessels pass under bridges (where GNSS is unreliable) and for station keeping during DP operations, including offshore wind.
Object and hazard detection is essential for safer operations. The 24 GHz RangeGuard system measures the distance to the nearest object in its field of view (110° by 11°). Comparable to parking sensors found in the automotive industry, RangeGuard sensors can be installed around a vessel to provide alerts about incoming hazards in its close vicinity. RangeGuard Monopole is the DP version of this sensor and is designed for offshore wind applications. Service Operation Vessels (SOV’s) approach a wind tower without reliance on physical targets. RangeGuard Monopole calculates the position relative to the centre of the monopole. This is very repeatable and means that vessel turnaround times are decreased, and the vessel can complete more missions per day. Wind farm owners also reduce cost by no longer having to install or maintain targets.
The RS24 system is designed to provide high levels of situational awareness in densely populated marine environments. The RS24 Sensor is a high-speed, high-resolution FMCW K-band dome radar. This K-band (24GHz) radar has an inherently higher resolution than traditional navigation radars, which operate in the S or X bands. This means that it can detect objects as small as kayaks or buoys. In addition, unlike navigation radars, it does not have a blind zone, which means it can also detect objects from 1m away. It can output radar images both to the RS24 Dashboard and third-party applications that support ASTERIX CAT-240 data format.
Wärtsilä Voyage’s camera systems provide real-time video images to provide situational awareness around the vessel and are designed for the harshest marine environments. Whether installed on a cruise ship navigating the locks of the Panama Canal, a cargo ship crossing the Pacific Ocean, or on a crew transfer vessel in the North Sea, the Birds Eye View, SmartQuay and Augmented Reality applications assist the crew during the voyage while approaching the port and during docking. The key features include:
Wärtsilä Artemis Mk6 position reference sensor has the longest range of any sensor currently available in the market. Used exclusively in the offshore shuttle tanker market, the latest version builds on a legacy of over 40 years of experience.
The Artemis system is a 9GHz microwave position reference sensor made for long-range marine Dynamic Positioning (DP) applications. Artemis accurately measures the range, heading and bearing to a second Artemis unit. Development continues to add new and improved features to ensure it is the most reliable sensor for these safety-critical operations.
Wärtsilä XT (Extreme Temperature) sensor range includes all the functionality and operational benefits of the conventional laser or radar position reference technology but has been designed to operate in Arctic conditions.
The patented laser technology, CyScan AS, uses a reflective target on the quayside or asset to calculate its position. Currently, it is the only laser sensor in the market to provide positive target identification. This means it can ignore reflections from all shiny and reflective surfaces for the safest navigation. CyScan AS can also provide the global position through a feature called CyScan GeoLock. With a range of over 2 km, it can be used on both approaches to the asset or quayside and close-range manoeuvres, where knowing a vessel’s precise position is critical.
The 9 GHz RadaScan View accurately measures the range, heading and bearing in relation to the powered responders mounted on the asset. The all-weather system also enables automated approach and position keeping with respect to a rig or another vessel. The rotating scanner enables the system to display a traditional radar image on the ‘View Dashboard.’ This means that DP Operators can see responders in relation to the structure on a single screen — an extremely useful feature for safe operation in low visibility conditions.
