An adaptive hierarchical clustering method for ship trajectory data based on DBSCAN algorithm

In this paper, an adaptive hierarchical clustering method based on DBSCAN algorithm is proposed to get information better from Automatic Identification System, and to be aware of traffic situation on water scientifically. In order to deal with the uneven distribution of ship trajectories, the paper proposes a method of hierarchical clustering and a statistical method to determine parameters according to the data set itself. After experiments, it is proven that the method can identify ship trajectories by their similarity as clusters, and result conforms to the actual traffic flow, thus, the method can provide assistant decision-making in the field of waterway construction, maritime control and so on.