In order to give naval vessels more opportunities to fix their position, the Dutch company RH Marine has integrated an[ds_preview] optical bearing device (OBD) in WECDIS, the digital chart system for military purposes. The optical bearings of objects, such as lighthouses and other landmarks, are automatically displayed on the digital chart. Also the system can send back data to the OBD, which makes it unique in the industry. »Objects that are important for navigation can also be embedded into the radar grid log, so that the radar can fix the ship’s position based on these fixed points«, RH Marine stated. »Both features make naval vessels less dependent on satellite navigation systems like GPS. Those systems can be distorted and are sometimes less accurate«, it was said.
In addition and in order to improve the accuracy of position fixes, RH Marine has developed R95 Ellipse. This algorithm is said to calculate the most likely position of the ship with 95% accuracy, based on radar, GPS or OBD bearings. That position is displayed on the map in the form of an ellipse. »This ensures that the various departments or even ships know that they »are all talking about the same target,« said portfolio manager Marcel Vermeulen. RH Marine also extended its Voyage Planning Station (VPS), a 55 inch touchscreen that replaced the former paper chart, with new features. In addition to pointing, planning and calculating voyages and routes, photos and videos can now be added. These can be viewed with one click on an icon on the digital sea chart.
