Embed2Scale Showcases Maritime Awareness Research at SPIE Security + Defence

On September 17, 2025, Miguel A. Belenguer-Plomer, representing project partner SatCen, presented new research on maritime awareness at SPIE Security + Defence 2025.

His presentation, “Insights into deep learning-based vessel detection and characterization using SAR and AIS data”, introduced an approach that combines Sentinel‑1 radar imagery with AIS vessel records to detect and classify ships using a YOLO deep learning model. This work is part of Embed2Scale’s Maritime Awareness use case, which aims to strengthen Europe’s ability to monitor maritime activity.

The combined dataset included:

• 23,121 vessels
• 2,008 Sentinel-1 images (taken between 2020 and 2024 from 12 major US ports)
• 22,770 patches (500×500 px)

Key observations from the research:

• YOLOv8, Sentinel‑1 and AIS together enable vessel detection and classification.
• The medium YOLO model offers the best balance between accuracy and efficiency.
• The model shows strong performance with cargo and service vessels.
• Fishing, leisure, and military vessels were harder to detect due to data imbalance and resolution limits.
• Data augmentation, class-weighted loss functions, and longer training would improve the monitoring process.