A generic testbed for simulation and physical-based testing of maritime cyber-physical system of systems

Abstract

e-Navigation Systems are CPSoS, which are regarded as systems based on systems with physical and information technology-based components. SoS are usually open systems which can have emerging behaviour and are not fully defined during design time. Future maritime bridge systems, for instance, will be embedded into the vessel infrastructure and its navigation and safety subsystems receive continuous updates and additional functionalities for the ship's command and navigation. Suitable testbeds are required to support the technological and regulatory development and certification processes. To support the development and integration of CPS, this paper introduces the testbed eMIR as an open and modular research, development and test environment. The test environment is suitable for early testing, validation and verification or demonstration of new maritime technologies in a complex simulation environment (traffic, environment and sensors) and supports a seamless transfer of these technologies from a virtual into a physical testbed. eMIR comprised various interconnected virtual and physical components via a standardised co-simulation environment based on HLA, combined with a message passing middleware as a backbone for the physical testbed elements. The testbed was effectively applied in various maritime projects for the evaluation of maritime technologies in navigation, management and surveillance or maritime (transportation) systems.