I did research on autonomous underwater robots already in the 1990’s, but autonomous ships have been my main subject only since 2011, then as instigator and later scientific coordinator for the MUNIN project. This was the first European R&D project on autonomous merchant ships and the world’s first with a high public profile. Since then, I have worked at the forefront of autonomous ship research, including creating the first national interest organization, Norwegian Forum for Autonomous Ship (NFAS) which also has an international arm in the International Network for Autonomous Ships (INAS). I also established the ICMASS conference series as part of the INAS activities. My scientific activities are mostly related to taxonomies and descriptive principles as well as high level design principles, including safety and security, control and supervision principles, and digital communication onboard and from ship to shore. I participate in international standardisation, as observer to IMO and I am generally acknowledged by those that are familiar with the area as one of the world's leading experts on these subjects.
I have worked with maritime ICT since 1991 when I started as project manager for the MiTS (Maritime Information Technology Standard) project. This project developed the MiTS communication specification for Ethernet, which was the starting point internationally for Ethernet based merchant ship data networks. Via the PISCES project and the IEC 61162-400, 401,402 and 410 standards, this led to the development of IEC 61162-450, which since around 2015 started to make a real impact in the market. I was project leader in IEC for the development of these standards. Since 2004 I have worked with information exchange standards, much concentrated around ISO 28005 for electronic port clearance, for which I was the ISO project manager and main author. In 2019, ISO 28005, together with similar standards from World Customs Organizations (WCO) and UNECE were the basis for the development of the IMO Reference Data Model which can be considered a milestone in data interoperability in shipping. It is the first maritime interoperability model for three industry standards, each covering different domains (ship safety, tariffs and electronic trade). We are currently working to extend this model into the e-navigation domain and into port operations. In this special area of maritime information model standardisation, particularly in the intersection between authority and commercial information model requirements, I am also among the world leading experts.
I am primarily an engineer, but with a keen interest in scientific methods and publications. I have published around 30 papers in reviewed journals and conferences as well as numerous conference presentations and several articles in more popular magazines and newspapers. I had a three year period as a research fellow at the then Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH, now NTNU), mainly doing research on autonomous underwater vehicles. However, my main interest was industrial applications. I am in particular interested in the role of standards and openly published research in creating a more efficient substrate or ecosystem for developing new, innovative and competitive products. Thus, I left university, worked for a few more years in SINTEF, then leaving industrial research for industry, first in Navia, which was acquired by Kongsberg, but finally ending up in Autronica after a transfer of the maritime fire and emergency management product AM5000 to them. I returned back to industrial research after four years when I started in then MARINTEK (now SINTEF Ocean) and have stayed there since.
I have worked most of my active career as a project manager for in-house projects or contract research, for national cooperative projects, in EU projects and for national and international organisations like IEC and ISO. This includes both administrative and technical coordination of activities. However, I have also been an ordinary participant in projects, and I have usually selected my role to give the highest possible impact on the results that myself and my colleagues desire. I am not overly fond of the administrative side of project management and have, when possible, delegated to others to be the administrative project manager.
I have a good understanding of the dynamics of decision making in these various types of projects and I am well versed in presenting my opinions for maximum impact in such fora. This is normally in open discussions and as input papers, but it is always important to understand the opponents and the methods they use to reach their objectives. Back-room discussions and other measures are from time to time necessary.
I also have a good track record of getting funding to the projects I am involved in writing and proposing. I have close to 50% hit rate on EU- and national projects.
In addition to autonomous ship system design and inter-domain data models I do still work with more hands-on technical problems. This includes analysis of ship-shore communication links, AIS traffic data, embedded programming (mostly ANSI C) and safety and security analysis. These are areas where I may not be excellent, but still quite good. Hands-on knowledge of these areas are also important to understand the problems that other engineers face when they try to implement new ideas and it also helps in discussion with other system designers.
As has been noted above, I have worked in the international standards community since around 1995, with the EU system since around the same time and with IMO since 2006. Work in IMO has got me into close contact with ITU, IHO, IALA, and from time to time with other organizations like UNECE and WCO. Through my activities with autonomous ships and the INAS network, as well as with activities in digital standards, I have also had close contacts with different flag and coastal state authorities. I have also participated in the Waterborne Technology Platform which included a first attempt to establish a private-public partnership between the European maritime industry and EU’s DG MOVE through “Vessel for the Future”. I am in no way an expert on international issues, but I have a reasonably good understanding of the mechanisms and the different priorities between these organisations, which is very helpful in my day-to-day work on establishing international consensus on various technical issues.
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Last updated 2024-03-25 by Ø.J.Rødseth @ MITS Consult