We look forward to exhibiting and presenting at the 2026 Dynamic Positioning Conference in Houston, Texas!

Our Technical Director, Tom Coggins will be speaking on behalf of our engineering team to discuss our latest advancements.

Guidance Marine will also be exhibiting at booth #6. Come and visit us from 12-14th October to discuss further!

'Radar-Based Synthetic Environments For Targetless Position Reference Systems'

Time: 4:30PM

When: 14th October

Location: Houston, Texas (Hyatt Regency Houston West)

Summary

Although targetless sensors have transformed close-range vessel positioning, there remains a significant challenge beyond 500m. Targetless operation is not currently available over 500m, and Guidance Marine want to push past that zone.

For operators, sea trials remain the validation benchmark, but they are costly, difficult to reproduce, and limited in exploring edge-case scenarios.

Synthetic radar environments can help push radar-based position reference systems beyond the conventional 500m limitation by allowing systematic investigation of performance at progressively longer stand-off distances.

We propose a methodology to construct synthetic radar environments for the development and verification of targetless position reference systems.

The approach combines three elements:

1. Physics-informed environmental modeling

2. Vessel motion simulation

3. Radar signal synthesis driven by system parameters

Open-source tools generate 3D scenes representing coastal terrain, offshore infrastructure, and vessel traffic, enabling realistic trajectory simulation under disturbances and constraints.

The framework enables repeatable evaluation across diverse conditions, such as congested offshore fields and port approaches. By varying environment, motion, and sensor configuration, it supports assessment of perception algorithms, robustness to variability, and identification of operational limits. It also enables structured exploration of failure modes and sensitivity to modeling assumptions, producing representative datasets for benchmarking.

This system-level approach provides a scalable alternative to extensive field testing, supporting rigorous validation and expansion of DP operating envelopes.

Benefits of Radar-Based Synthetic Environments

Faster, more cost-effective development: Algorithms and software upgrades can be tested before committing vessel time.

Repeatable and measurable verification: Baseline and updated systems can be compared under identical conditions using exact ground truth.

Broader operational coverage: Challenging scenes, vessel motions, edge cases, and GNSS-denied conditions can be explored systematically. The framework can also be extended from radar to LiDAR-based systems.

Synthetic environments allow to reproduce changes in scene geometry, radar-return strength, information density, vessel motion, and visibility which are known to become increasingly important at extended ranges.

In this manner, engineers can then identify the causes of performance degradation, evaluate algorithm and sensor-processing upgrades under identical conditions, and determine where reliable positioning begins to break down.

Then, targeted on-water trials can confirm these findings.

In brief, the proposed framework provides the development tools and evidence needed to expand the validated operating envelope, it does not simply assume that an existing system will work beyond 500m. However, we are a step closer.

About Tom Coggins

Tom Coggins is the Technical Director of Guidance Marine, where he leads a team of 26 engineers in the research and development of advanced marine sensor systems. With over 20 years’ experience in electronics and sensor design, Tom has been instrumental in shaping Guidance Marine’s product portfolio and technology roadmap.

Tom joined Guidance more than a decade ago and has progressed through roles as Electronic Design Engineer and Hardware Manager before taking on his current leadership position.

During this time, he has overseen the hardware development of the entire product range, driving innovation in navigation and positioning technologies. Outside of work, Tom enjoys spending time with his wife and three young children.

We look forward to the 2026 MTS Dynamic Positioning Conference from 12-14th October. If you'd like to know more about our abstract, reach out below.