A Machine Learning Operations Framework for Self-Adaptive Anomaly Detection in Autonomous Surface Ships Under Data Drift

Minji Kim, Gwangho Yun, Hwasup Jang, Jaecheul Park

For stable operation of autonomous surface ships, real-time anomaly detection of engine conditions must be coupled with an operational framework that sustains model performance in dynamic maritime environments. This study proposes an autonomous maintenance system that combines a subsystem-level condition-based maintenance (CBM) model with a dedicated MLOps framework. The main engine is decomposed into multiple functional component units, each governed by an independent diagnostic pipeline that applies a hybrid algorithm combining an attention LSTM autoencoder with an isolation forest to capture subtle anomalies. Although this hybrid attains higher precision than conventional single models, it remains sensitive to operating environment shifts. To address this, we develop an onboard MLOps pipeline that monitors distributional shifts in real-time sensor data and executes an autonomous maintenance mechanism, retraining and redeploying models on local data when performance degradation is anticipated. A dual-monitoring rule set based on a standardized deviation score and its smoothed change rate is used to discriminate abrupt mechanical anomalies from gradual drift. Experiments on a fault simulation testbed indicate that, under data drift, the system can recover detection reliability and adapt to changing engine conditions, providing a technical basis for the self-sustaining reliability of autonomous surface ships.