Improving Maritime Domain Awareness in Brazil through Computer Vision Technology

This article discusses the Brazilian maritime authority’s efforts to monitor and control vessels in specific maritime areas using data from the naval traffic control system. Anomalies in vessel locations can signal security threats or illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal fishing....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matheus Emerick de Magalhães, Carlos Eduardo Barbosa, Kelli de Faria Cordeiro, Daysianne Kessy Mendes Isidorio, Jano Moreira de Souza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/11/7/1272
Description
Summary:This article discusses the Brazilian maritime authority’s efforts to monitor and control vessels in specific maritime areas using data from the naval traffic control system. Anomalies in vessel locations can signal security threats or illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal fishing. A reliable Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is necessary to reduce such occurrences. This study proposes a data-driven framework, CV-MDA, which uses computer vision to enhance MDA. The approach integrates vessel records and camera images to create an annotated dataset for a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model. This solution supports detecting, classifying, and identifying small vessels without trackers or that have deliberately shut down their tracking systems in order to engage in illegal activities. Improving MDA could enhance maritime security, including identifying warships invading territorial waters and preventing illegal activities.
ISSN:2077-1312