OceanVision is an electronic charting-navigation system and much more. The system can display full reproductions of marine navigation charts in high resolution colour. It also displays the vessel's position on the charts and can track the path travelled by the vessel in operator defined colours and line types. Multiple windows allow charts and other important information to be displayed simultaneously.

To enable OceanVision to carry out these functions, together with a full compliment of navigation functions, it interfaces to several electronic devices, the most important being a GPS.

Using OceanVision, the operator can enter routes of waypoints which can be used for navigation, planning or comparison with the actual course travelled. Enquires can be made of any position with relation to the vessel's current position simply by pointing to that position on the chart. Event markers can be placed to store danger, no-go or important fishing locations. OceanVision is also a powerful database for the mariner. A whole range of detailed information can be attached to the above mentioned event markers including date, time, weather conditions, catch statistics and so on. This information can be retrieved quickly and easily by pointing to the desired marker. In addition, a wide range of queries can be created and used to obtain specific information about a group of points or to search the data for results based on a set of criteria.

The chart being displayed can be reduced or increased in scale as necessary to provide the operator with the most desirable view for navigational functions. The chart can be switched off completely by the operator if required to simplify graphical editing and other operations.

Some of the most useful functions of OceanVision include:

• Route monitoring
• Route planning
• Tracking according to a planned route.
• Tracking a grided pattern to cover a particular area
• A powerful database facility
• Selective display of detail as required.

These functions make OceanVision ideally suited for any maritime operation including:

• All types of commercial fishing
• Commercial shipping
• Sea Search and Rescue
• Charter operations
• Recreational (sailing, fishing and cruising)

As an owner of this state-of-the-art technology, you can receive the benefits of improved efficiency and safety at sea. We are confident that as you master the powerful functions of OceanVision, it will become an essential part of your vessel's navigation system.

OceanVision - Features

The OceanVision Electronic Navigation System has the following list of features:

• High resolution, colour graphic display of marine navigation charts in real time, providing exceptional clarity and detail.
  
  
• A true seamless chart facility with zero overlap and no reduction in clarity when moving from one chart to another (unless the adjoining chart is of different scale). Charts are automatically rescaled if adjoining charts are of different scales.
  
  
• Auto chart selection. Where more than one chart exists for a given location, the chart that is closest to the current screen scale is selected and displayed.
  
  
• Pan and Zoom facilities
  
  
• Operator selectable charts with any chart being able to be toggled on/off from the available chart list.
  
  
• Full route planning facilities.
  
  
• Alarm functions for situations such as navigational hazards, off track conditions, approaching destination, GPS malfunction and anchor watch.
  
  
• Permanent graphical storage of vessel tracks in operator definable colours and linetypes. Points and partial or whole tracks can be linked into the integrated database facility.
  
  
• A powerful Structured Query Language (SQL) database that is graphically linked for data entry and retrieval via operator positioned waypoints and markers.
  
  
• Chart correction facilities for the operator that are based on position. These corrections are independent of individual charts and operator generated data files and are permanently stored and displayed.
  
  
• Accurate vessel position, speed and course update with constant graphical and coordinate position update by a NMEA interface to a GPS unit.
  
  
• Waypoint/route steering capability via a NMEA autopilot interface.
  
  
• A 'Dead Reckoning' mode if GPS malfunction occurs.
  
  
• Utilising Email as the data transmission medium, Patrol Vessel Query Mode provides an interface to the VMS Control Centre to receive and transmit relevant data such as Vessel Track, Catch Report and ARPA Radar data.
  
  

Proposed Enhancements:

• Presentation of moving targets and operator selected fixed points using standard ARPA radar interface.
  
  
• Optional interface to echo sounders via the standard NMEA interface to map depth and enable an anti-grounding alarm.
  
  
• Optional interface to temperature sensors to detect strategic water temperatures for fishing applications