Driver fatigue: a vision-based approach to automatic diagnosis

In this paper, we describe a system that locates and tracks the eyes of a driver. The purpose of such a system is to perform detection of driver fatigue. By mounting a small camera inside the car, we can monitor the face of the driver and look for eye movements which indicate that the driver is no longer in condition to drive. In such a case, a warning signal should be issued. This paper describes how to find and track the eyes. We also describe a method that can determine if the eyes are open or closed. The primary criterion for this system is that it must be highly non-intrusive. The system must also operate regardless of the texture and the color of the face. It must also be able to handle changing conditions such as changes in light, shadows, reflections, etc. Initial experimental results are very promising even when the driver moves his/her head in a way such that the camera does not have a frontal view of the driver’s face.     

An exploratory study on the Northern Sea Route as an alternative shipping passage

This qualitative inductive research explores the potential benefits for the Scandinavian economy and ports through the implementation of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative for container shipping to the established Southern route through the Suez Canal. To extract expert’s opinions and address these objectives, we utilised in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews through purposive sampling in a single case study setting. The analysis of the data demonstrates that the commercialisation of NSR can yield benefits for the Scandinavian economy (e.g. GDP increase, jobs creation) and reveals the benefits of Scandinavian ports (e.g. ECA’s, flexibility, hinterland, etc.) compared to other ports in North West Europe, which potentially grasp the NSR as an opportunity. However, it is highlighted that this can only be achieved if Scandinavian countries are proactive and secure their involvement.     

The assessment of market efficiency in the shipping sector: a new approach

The aim of this paper is to use an alternative measure of the efficiency of the different shipping industries, i.e. VLCC/ULCC (250000dwt), Suezmax (140000dwt), Aframax (80000dwt), which are the main carriers of crude oil, and Handymax (40000dwt), which carries the vast majority of clean (oil) products. The results of the theoretical analysis confirm that, under pure expectations theory, the larger vessels demonstrate higher volatility, as measured by the standard deviation, than the smaller vessels, thereby supporting the proposition that period freight rates do indeed appear to be perfect foresights of the future spot rates.     

Safety in Greek coastal shipping: The role and risk of human factor revisited

The comprehensive analysis presented in this paper investigates the links and comparative assets between human factor and other factors that are important determinants of maritime transport risk. In this outline, the identification of factors, such as age and ship size, that can be statistically linked (i.e. statistical significance) to whether an accident in a passenger vessel can be attributed to human factor or other causes is addressed accordingly. This way, the role of human factor in relation to safety of Greek coastal shipping is revealed and the spotlight is able to focus on the various aspects and points that manifest the importance of human element in the maritime industry. The risk assessment of the transportation with Greek passenger ships is being used in order for the safety level of Greek coastal shipping to be adequately estimated. Moreover, the comparison between the values of risk for accidents caused by human factor and those attributed to other causes is an established way to bring to the fore the unbroken relationship between the human factor and marine accidents’ consequences. The paper is concluded with interesting insights and comments drafted through the aforementioned tasks.     

The assessment of market efficiency in the shipping sector: a new approach

The aim of this paper is to use an alternative measure of the efficiency of the different shipping industries, i.e. VLCC/ULCC (250000dwt), Suezmax (140000dwt), Aframax (80000dwt), which are the main carriers of crude oil, and Handymax (40000dwt), which carries the vast majority of clean (oil) products. The results of the theoretical analysis confirm that, under pure expectations theory, the larger vessels demonstrate higher volatility, as measured by the standard deviation, than the smaller vessels, thereby supporting the proposition that period freight rates do indeed appear to be perfect foresights of the future spot rates.     

Incorporating equity as part of the wider impacts in transport infrastructure assessment: an application of the SUMINI approach

The state of the art in appraisal of transport infrastructure (particularly for developed countries) is moving towards inclusivity of a set of wider impacts than has traditionally been the case. In appraisal frameworks generally Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), features as either an alternative to, or complementary with, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) particularly when assessing a wider set of distributional and other impacts. In that respect it goes some way towards addressing an identified weakness in conventional CBA. This paper proposes a new method to incorporate the wider impacts into the appraisal framework (SUMINI) based upon a composite indicator and MCA. The method is illustrated for a particular example of the wider set of impacts, i.e. equity, through the ex-post assessment of two large EU transport infrastructure (TEN-T) case studies. The results suggest that SUMINI assesses equity impacts well and the case studies highlight the flexibility of the approach in reflecting different policy or project objectives. The research concludes that this method should not be viewed as being in competition with traditional CBA, but that it could be an easily adopted and complementary approach. The value in the research is in providing a new and significant methodological advance to the historically difficult question of how to evaluate equity and other wider impacts. The research is of strong international significance due to the publication of the TEN-Ts review by the European Commission, as well as the transnational nature of large scale interurban transport schemes, the involvement of national and transnational stakeholder groups in the approval and funding of those schemes, the large numbers of population potentially subject to equity and other wider impacts and the degree of variation in the regional objectives and priorities for transport decision makers.     

Using geometric primitives to calibrate traffic scenes

In this paper, we address the problem of recovering the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of a camera or a group of cameras in a setting overlooking a traffic scene. Unlike many other settings, conventional camera calibration techniques are not applicable in this case. We present a method that uses certain geometric primitives commonly found in traffic scenes, such as straight and curved lanes, lane markings, and poles in order to recover calibration parameters. We show experimentally that these primitives provide the needed redundancy and are capable of achieving accurate results suitable for most traffic monitoring applications.     

Maritime policy making for flag states: Forecasting safety/detention performance with the use of time series analysis

In this paper time series univariate forecast methods and analysis of time series is used in an innovative way, with the intention of assisting the flag state administrators to map and predefine their shipping quality policy. In general, given the number of ships detained by Port State Control (PSC) and corresponding inspections of the flag fleet for the same period of time, one is able to forecast the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (Paris MoU) excess factor of any flag state for a selected time window. Thus, depending on the goals of each flag state administration, one can judge their feasibility (e.g. remain in the Paris MOU White List or achieve an excess factor of —1 etc) and determine whether to enhance the safety measures or not. The method is first developed and discussed on an abstract basis to set the theoretical background, a combination of time series analysis and practical engineering philosophy. Then the study focuses upon the Cyprus Flag figures in Paris MOU ports, only to demonstrate its effectiveness but can in any case be applied upon any given flag. The application of the method suggested, combined with expert judgment, could result in a significant improvement of the flag quality.     

Marine engineers’ training: Educational assessment for an engine room simulator

Qualitative upgrading of the educational process at university level marine education depends largely on the instructive value of the trainers’ educational software. Marine education software has developed out of a certain initial implementation in an equivalent manner to which the programs of practice and training have been applied in cases of simulations and programming environments. In most cases, educational software categories have developed without taking into consideration any special pedagogical theory.