Implementation of A Geofence-Based Anti-Theft System and Real-Time Notifications on USV

Setyawan Ajie Sukarno (Departement of Automation Engineering, Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia)
Jenaya Aurielle Feriwijaya (Departement of Automation Engineering, Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia)
Dini Hadiani (Departement of Automation Engineering, Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia)
Wahyudi Purnomo (Departement of Automation Engineering, Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia)
Riky Adhiharto (Departement of Automation Engineering, Politeknik Manufaktur Bandung, Bandung, 40135, Indonesia)

International Journal of Marine Engineering Innovation and Research
Vol. 11 No. 3 (2026): In Progress

Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are increasingly deployed due to technological advancements, yet their physical security remains significantly under-explored. While anti-theft frameworks are widely adopted for land vehicles, these systems rely on passive anti-theft mechanisms—alerting the owner about the theft—and failed to prevent the physical removal of the asset from the threat. To address this critical gap, this study proposes an active anti-theft system for USVs with a dual-layer detection mechanism utilizing spatial geofencing and physical attitude anomaly detection. The system employs an on-board edge computing that autonomously triggers a closed-loop Return-to-Launch (RTL) maneuver upon detecting a geofence breach, while simultaneously transmitting real-time telemetry update to a Web-Based Ground Control Station (Web-GCS). Testing across controlled and real-world environments demonstrated that the system reliably executes autonomous return protocols with low-latency communication. By transitioning asset protection from passive anti-theft to active anti-theft, this multi-layered framework establishes a novel foundational framework for physical security in autonomous vessels.