Next-Gen Intelligent Situational Awareness Systems for Maritime Surveillance and Autonomous Navigation [Point of View]

Today, the maritime domain is at the cusp of a new era, driven by technological advances in automation, robotics, multisensor perception, and artificial intelligence (AI), together with digitalization and connectivity. Smart ship infrastructure and technology, remotely controlled and autonomous ship operation to improve safety, security, cost efficiency, and sustainability are the future of maritime transportation [1], representing now the engine of 90% of global trade [2]. Ships will soon benefit from recent developments in sensors, telecommunications, and computing technologies to turn the smart shipping revolution into reality [3] and [4], as it has already happened for autonomous vehicles such as driverless cars, aerial drones, unmanned (or remotely piloted) aircraft, and underwater vehicles.