# Development of Automatic Berthing Support Program for Autonomous Ships
## 5 Conclusions  
This study developed an automatic berthing support program that calculates the required bow and stern thruster output to achieve the desired berthing speed under given external force conditions, using only basic ship information, and provides this output to the operator. The research can be divided into two main parts: program development and verification. For program development, the forces and moments acting on the hull during berthing were analyzed to formulate equations that calculate the necessary thruster output to maintain the desired berthing speed in varying environmental conditions such as wind and current. The program was designed to operate with a minimal set of input elements. The automatic berthing support program was installed on a ship, and during an 8 min berthing maneuver--from approach to parallel alignment with the pier--the actual bow thruster and stern tug power usage was compared with the thruster output values calculated by the program. The bow thruster power based on pitch angle (Thruster(F)) and the stern tug power (Tug(A)) averaged between 300 and 544 hp, whereas the calculated bow and stern thruster power from the automatic berthing program (Program(F), Program(A)) averaged between 105 and 131 hp. The calculated power from the automatic berthing support program was approximately 3-5 times lower than the actual thruster power used during berthing. This discrepancy is likely due to the program being designed for a berthing speed of 0.05-0.15 m/s, whereas the actual berthing speed ranged from 0.25 to 1.13 m/s. Research on automatic ship berthing is largely divided into two areas: recognition technology, which identifies the pier where the ship will berth, and evaluation of the ship's movement under various external force conditions to ensure the ship can berth at a safe speed. In this study, we present a method to support ships in docking at an appropriate speed by evaluating hull motion in various external force environments, considering the distance to the dock. In addition, the proposed system recognizes piers by inputting the \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Sensing Technology** & & **Advantages** & **Disadvantages** \\ \hline LiDAR & - & Real-time vessel tracking and dynamic berthing information extraction. & - & Effectively detects and tracks static and dynamic obstacles only with a camera. \\  & - & Monitoring of vessel berthing and & - & Limited by lighting conditions and viewing angle. \\  & - & Provides visual information about ship & - & Effectively detects and tracks obstacles only with LiDAR. \\  & - & Identification of signs and obstacles. & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\ Camera & - & Supports safe berthing by providing & - & Effectively detects and tracks obstacles only with LiDAR. \\  & - & Control of ship position by providing & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\  & - & Easy identification of docking location by & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\  & - & Display the location of the monitor. & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\  & - & Calculated and presents the output of the required tag or thruster in real time & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\  & - & Recording to berthing speed and external force (wind, current). & - & Expandable by integrating sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, and GPS. \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 11: Comparison of autonomous berthing sensing technologies. GPS location of the dock in advance and calculates the distance to the pier in real time, unlike other studies and systems that primarily rely on LiDAR and cameras. The proposed automatic berthing support program can serve as an auxiliary tool to assist operators in safely berthing a ship by providing real-time data on the required bow and stern thruster output, distance to the pier, and lateral movement speed, all based on simple input elements.