Networking strategy for data-driven management in a ship: Requirements and applications

Abstract

Data-driven management in ships to improve efficiency and safety increasingly requires a networking solution that should satisfy the requirements of a ship. The mandatory regulations in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements require recording voyage data to assist in accident investigations. However, most intra-communication devices in a ship are built based on wired communication, such as Ethernet, which causes problems with initial installation cost and scalability. Internet of Things (IoT) technology interconnects many sensor nodes to collect data and allows them to be used intelligently. Considering wireless sensor networks for IoT in a ship, techniques to reduce the energy consumption of distributed devices and extend communication coverage are significant issues to collect various data in a ship and ensure the accuracy of the collected data. The long-range wide area network (LoRaWAN) protocol for IoT was introduced as a promising solution for IoT because it is a data link layer with a long range, low power, and suitable bit rate for IoT applications. This paper discusses the suitability of the LoRaWAN protocol as a potential network-ing strategy for ships and proposes its use cases for data-driven vessel management.