Expert Systems and the Collision regulations Essay

Expert Systems and the Collision regulations - Essay Example Port corridors have become so congested that it is even tough to row through let alone guide a huge vessel to its berth. The upswing in the accident curve has made scientists sit up and think about safer modes to navigation. Application of technology has certainly made it possible for us to have a safer travelling and transport environment. This paper examines the various devices that have been devised to assist navigators and empower them to make knowledgeable decisions in the event of a crisis. Advance warning is a key area in which these radar based electronic devices have managed to improvise leaving the human element to play a vital role to decide on the final course of avoidance action. The International and Inland Maritime Navigation Rules were formulated in the Convention on International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea Treaty in 1972 and became effective on the 15th of July, 1977. The rules were intended to codify the standard behaviour of vessels of all the nations to substantially reduce the possibility of mid-sea collision by promoting orderly and predictable responses to a variety of frequently occurring situations. In the case of aircrafts, they too require such laws and international standards. In the initial days of flying, the pilots trusted their eyes and ears to do the job. All through World War I and later mail aviation happened without any sophisticated navigation equipment except for a front mounted compass. Later as technology developed, wireless communication systems were installed and during the Second World War, an airborne radar was fitted to the aircrafts -not initially to assist navigators to fly, but to hunt down submarines and ships and to shoot at them. Later, as civil aviation grew in volume and planes were taking off airstrips more often than earlier a combination of these two systems - the wireless and the radar helped pilot make decisions that avoided mid air collisions. These systems had their risk. If the pilot was not experienced enough, he could not make the knowledge calculations to prevent a collision in a crisis situation. Huge efforts were being made to train pilo ts to retain their sanity at the time of a crisis. The introduction of the jet age compounded the situation. Aircrafts were now flying higher and faster. The pilots had less response times at hand. Research showed that the aircraft would easily travel a mile along its horizontal displacement vector between the time the pilot pulled the stick and the aircraft even begins to climb. This is a huge gap for error. Needle line consciousness of pilots prevented accidents from occurring. But more planes were lost due to mid air collisions than at landing and take off - most of them quite unjustly described as pilot errors. The complications of aircrafts were constraining to both the regulators and the