Electronic charts as the basis for integrated marine navigation

Electronic charts are being demonstrated by a project currently underway involving the installation of an integrated system of charts, positioning, radar, and communications. The first of at least four vessels will be headed for sea during the third quarter of 1992, equipped with a powerful graphics workstation and multiple full-color, high-resolution displays, with connections to a digital radar, GPS (Global Positioning System), Loran, and a satellite communications terminal for rapid and automatic updating of the displayed charts. The project, administered by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, is intended to be both a test and demonstration facility. The demonstration system is expected to exploit the power of integration of various navigation sensors and processors. The combination of chart, positioning, and radar will display the ship´s situation relative to its sea environment: the bottom, the aids to navigation, the traffic in the harbor, and the path to its destination