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Launch of I2C, a European research project to improve maritime surveillance

The European I2C research project, which aims to develop a comprehensive maritime surveillance system, was launched on October 12th. The goal of this system is to detect in real time, and regardless of the maritime conditions, any suspicious behavior of ships over a large maritime zone. In its association with this project Onera brings its expertise in processing, radars, and carriers, an involvement that confirms Onera’s commitment to security.

I2C is a 4-year European research project for the development of an integrated maritime surveillance system. The project, managed by the DCNS, is mobilizing 20 European partners including 4 research centers (Onera, IRIT, Armines CRC and the Joint Research Centre) 6 industrial companies (DCNS, Rockwell Collins, Furuno, ASTRA, Techcom services, Spacetec, Kongsberg Northcontrol), and 9 SMEs.

The innovation of the I2C system is that it offers an integrated, comprehensive solution: it improves the detection of suspicious behavior of ships and carries out partly automated processing for the identification of associated threats (stopping in the open sea, a collision, a change of course, a destination that differs from the AIS message, a dangerous undeclared cargo, a suspicious flag, a fishing boat that has reached its quota and is positioned in a fishing zone, etc.) over a wide maritime area. The most advanced existing systems are limited to surveillance of territorial waters (12 nautical miles) and are based on networks of standard radars deployed along the coast.

I2C includes the use of new prototype sensors developed by Onera to "see" further, to analyze very complete information about the state of maritime traffic from algorithms for the automated detection of suspicious behavior of ships and to generate, in real time, automatic alerts sent to the operator after analysis of the indices collected.

Three skills that Onera is bringing to the I2C project: treatment, radars, carriers

The Onera teams mobilized for the I2C project are contributing their expertise in interpreting the suspicious behavior of ships. From the automated alerts of the system sensors and human information, the indexes are used to identify the type of activity: illegal activity (fishing, drugs, immigration), piracy, accidents (breakdown, pollution), etc.

"Security is becoming a more and more important outlet for the research carried out at Onera. Although the teams do not carry out specific work in this field, their expertise in sensors, the image chain and drones can be adapted to it. The participation of Onera in the I2C project is a concrete illustration of this," says Sylviane Pascal, manager for the development of European safety and defense activities at Onera.

Onera has also brought Surface Wave Radar to the I2C system. The fruit of 20 years of work at Onera, this radar makes it possible to see beyond the horizon, and to monitor up to 200 nautical miles of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). These zones are managed by the coastal States, which exercise sovereign rights and monitor both goods (fishing quotas, illegal importing) and people (clandestine emigration). (I2C: Integrated System for Interoperable sensors & Information sources for Common abnormal vessel behaviour detection & Collaborative identification of threat)

SWR means boats up to 400 km from the coast can be detected ‐ much more than the 50km to 100 km possible with existing radar. It is composed of several whip antennae that transmit a signal towards the sea. This signal is carried by the surface of the sea and then returns to be picked up by a reception network located on the coast. Over the course of three years, Onera has managed to significantly improve the rate of detection and availability of the system, making it one of the most efficient in the world. And the work goes on: Onera is continuing its tests of the Radar in all sea conditions, during the day and at night, and in different geographical settings.

Onera is also contributing the SETHI platform, which is capable of accommodating different types of sensors in order to carry out test surveys at sea. Sethi is a flying laboratory, a trans-horizon surveillance system that is unique in the world: it observes beyond the horizon and at 360°. It is a new generation radar imagery system that will soon have on-board optronics. It was originally designed for defense projects, then applied to scientific surveys. It was developed and certified in 2007. It produces radar images of the ground, during the day and at night, regardless of the weather conditions.

SETHI can be used to measure the advantages of these remote sensors for surveillance as close as possible to the “targets” or areas of interest, alongside other maritime surveillance tools. The on-board multi‐sensor configuration (radars, or optronic, multi-spectral) allows for the analysis of the most appropriate techniques for reinforcing the capacities for detection and identification of boats of various sizes.