The experimental results show that the detection of
prow-orientation is performed with a high precision in
the image plane. This data, together with the results of
the tracking process, allow us to estimate drift angles
and prevent dangerous situations. The error in the
ship’s centroid location does not exceed the system
resolution, and the course angle is computed with an
error lower than 5” for ships moving up to 6 km from
the antenna site and for any aspect angle. Additional
experiments should be needed to test the system in
extremely bad weather conditions (i.e. heavy fog and
rain). Furthermore, an exhaustive test campaign should
be planned to compare performance with other algorithms
proposed in the framework of the TRACS
ESPRIT Project.