# A Study on Identification of Development Status of MASS Technologies and Directions of Improvement
## 6 Conclusions  
We are once again standing in a transition period of ship design and operation with the introduction of autonomous ships. Therefore, the research approach to MASSs is currently taking place in various directions. This study has analyzed the current trends in six major research fields that must be performed to realize MASS operation among these studies and has suggested considerations and directions for future research. Firstly, IMO MASS RSE work has been reviewed and presented in the paper. The most important issues for the application of the IMO Conventions among various issues are the operators (seafarer, remote operator) of MASSs and their definitions and responsibilities. Therefore, a clear understanding of the seafarer's task on the vessel under the current IMO instruments is necessary for the revision, development, and application of the IMO Conventions. Based on this, a clear identification whether seafarers are onboard or not, depending on the degree of autonomy of the MASS, and clear classification of seafarers' or personnel's responsibilities for their tasks onboard is necessary, and, new standards for the definition of seafarer and a clear division of the roles and responsibilities of staff, remote operators,and the captain are required to be established. Therefore, the results of MASS RSE have clearly shown that human elements are still very important issues to be taken into account for the successful design and operation of the MASS. Secondly, decision-making/support systems are the most essential technology for the realization of MASSs. In particular, the decision-making system for ship collision avoidance is an essential function for the operation of the MASS, and various studies have been conducted. However, since the research/development for MASS decision-making systems to date has been focused on MASS degrees 1 and 2, it was confirmed that it is necessary to focus on the research on MASS degrees 3 and 4 in the future. To this end, research on a deep-learning decision-making system that has been applied to automobiles among various methods has been proposed as one of the appropriate tools. Additionally, it was identified that an indepth study of decision systems of emergency response, selecting optimal routes and ship speeds for MASSs, is necessary for the safe operation of MASSs to take into account persons such as remote operators and seafarers. Thirdly, potential design changes for an autonomous commercial cargo ship over MASS degree 3 have been investigated and presented in the paper. If there is no crew on board, especially for a commercial cargo ship, many constraints of the ship's design can be removed. It is expected that the removal of the entire deckhouse from conventional cargo ships could reduce design and construction costs, ship resistance efficiency, and electricity and fuel oil consumption. However, the autonomous ship will use a wider range of physical sensors than current conventional ships to control autonomous functions. Regarding the propulsion system, the autonomous ship is likely to employ fully-electric propulsion systems consisting of electric propulsor, power sources (e.g., lithium-ion batteries, fuel-cells) and control systems with DC-grids for electric propulsion and distribution systems due to power stability and low economic cost. For the successful and efficient design of the ship, maritime rules and regulations should be amended and newly developed together with the cooperation of all stakeholders. Fourthly, the communication system and cybersecurity of the autonomous ship have been discussed with their development direction in the near future. As an autonomous ship will be operated in remote locations, the wireless communication systems between the ships and the SCC are crucial for their safe and efficient operation. Therefore, the communication system will need to be bidirectional, robust, accurate, and supported by multiple systems, without creating redundancy and by minimizing risk with third-party infrastructures.