Cambridge Pixel supports Sirius Insight to deliver broader AI maritime situation awareness
Image courtesy Cambridge Pixel
With its many peninsulas and bays, coves and small headlands, the UK coastline is a complex stretch of sea to monitor and patrol. Traditional coastal surveillance methods utilising aircraft and vessels are expensive and non-persistent and, therefore, historically very difficult to monitor well. However, big data and machine learning (ML) are riding to the rescue, elaborating a solution that significantly lowers operating and service costs and, in this way, transforming the way coastal maritime activity is monitored, analysed and responded to by agencies and governments.
Sirius Insight chose Cambridge Pixel as its partner to create a truly innovative AI-powered maritime surveillance and situational awareness solution that integrated recent tech-powered innovations to deliver enhanced coastal surveillance management.
Sirius Insight has successfully integrated into its client-focused solutions Cambridge Pixel’s radar tracking software, which supports the receipt of radar video from onboard vessel radars. Typically, track reports are then combined with secondary track reports, such as AIS, to create a fuller picture of activity at sea and around the coastline.
Once identified by radar, PTZ cameras are controlled to slew to the target, and a computer vision system provides an automated visual classification to further identify and understand what each vessel is doing. Data is collected locally and securely stored in the cloud, allowing it to be analysed and used to drive alerts of suspicious activity such as large vessels that are not transmitting on AIS, destructive fishing practices, or illegal goods smuggling, supporting timely and effective inter-agency action and coordination.
Malcolm Glaister, Chief Executive Officer of Sirius Insight, said: "we were delighted to partner with Cambridge Pixel, a company with experience working with some of the world’s largest defence companies, on this project. It is testimony to the UK maritime sector’s commitment to innovation that Sirius Insight, a rapidly scaling UK AI tech business with extensive maritime domain expertise, has successfully collaborated with Cambridge Pixel to develop capabilities which improve safety and security at sea. Our partnership with Cambridge Pixel proves that by pooling knowledge and know how, UK companies can provide international clients with world-class, highly customised solutions that meet their needs precisely."
The project includes multiple solutions from Cambridge Pixel’s range of modular software, such as AVx VideoLink, which ensures that camera video from remote sites are efficiently distributed for display, record and replay, and ML analysis. RadarWatch provides real time display and control from any location with a clear interface showing sensor data, tiled maps, S57/S63 electronic charts, video from up to 2 radars and 16 cameras, within multiple windows and across multiple screens. It accepts open data formats such as ASTERIX and NMEA-0183 and is compatible with a wide range of radars, providing a common software architecture that can be scaled to single or multi-sensor installations.
David Johnson, CEO, Cambridge Pixel, added: "RadarWatch works seamlessly with many different radar and camera sensors and by implementing augmented vision, we can allow targets to be labelled within the camera video footage, enabling faster, clearer and better-informed decisions. It’s an ideal partnership with Sirius Insight’s pioneering AI technology."
