Validation of a maritime usability study with eye tracking data

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Time to revise the IMO’s guidance on good practice for the use of electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS)

In the course of developing the publication "Recommendations on usage of ECDIS and preventing incidents" [19] by members of the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), they have identified the importance of sharing information on a malfunction of an ECDIS. The problem was discussed in the forum of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). As a consequence, there was a necessity to modify the IMO’s ECDIS – Guidance for Good Practice. This guidance is intended to assist smooth implementation of ECDIS and its ongoing safe and effective use on board ships. In the new version of this document (second revision), new important terms appear, such as: type approval authority (TAA), type approval certificate (TAC), letter of acceptance (LOA), declaration of conformity (DOC). In this article, the author tries to present the problem and describe the actions taken by the appropriate IMO bodies

So, What is Actually the Distance from the Equator to the Pole? – Overview of the Meridian Distance Approximations

In the paper the author presents overview of the meridian distance approximations. He would like to find the answer for the question what is actually the distance from the equator to the pole ‐the polar distance. In spite of appearances this is not such a simple question. The problem of determining the polar distance is a great opportunity to demonstrate the multitude of possible solutions in common use. At the beginning of the paper the author discusses some approximations and a few exact expressions (infinite sums) to calculate perimeter and quadrant of an ellipse, he presents convenient measurement units of the distance on the surface of the Earth, existing methods for the solution of the great circle and great elliptic sailing, and in the end he analyses and compares geodetic formulas for the meridian arc length

The electronic chart systems and their classification

This paper is about Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in marine, coastal and navigational applications, about Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) – state of the art in nautical charting, international fully standardised integrated navigational tool, about different types of electronic charts and systems and about necessity to use of correct internationally agreed terminology. This paper presents actual status of Electronic Chart Systems (ECS), Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), Raster Chart Display Systems (RCDS), Admiralty Raster Chart Services (ARCS), their relations and classification of existing data bases pretending to standardised name of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC) and Raster Navigational Charts (RNC)

The concept of time in navigation

The article discusses the concept of time in navigation, especially in marine navigation, as well as selected time measures, among others: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), International Atomic Time TAI (Temps Atomique International), GPST (Global Positioning System Time) eLoran Time and interrelation between these measures. Understanding how time is involved in navigation, and using it, is one of the navigator's most important duties. Nowadays we have satellite navigation to help us know where we are. These satellites contain several very precise and accurate clocks, because time and location are completely and totally inter-related in satellite navigation. There is growing interest internationally concerning the vulnerability Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to natural and man-made interference, plus the jamming and spoofing of their transmissions. These vulnerabilities have led to a demand for sources of resilient PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) [16], including a robust means of distributing precise time nationally and internationally

Guidelines on the display of navigation-related information received by communication equipment at sea

This paper presents draft guidelines on the display of navigation-related information received by communications equipment elaborated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) [3]. It aims mainly to ensure that information is displayed in an efficient, reliable and consistent format, in a manner that is easily and accurately interpreted to support decision-making process. These guidelines supplement resolution MSC.191(79) Performance standards for the presentation of navigation-related information on shipborne navigational displays [7] in regard to the presentation of navigation information received via communication equipment. The use of these guidelines will ensure that navigation information received via communications equipment is displayed in a harmonized manner on the ships’ navigational bridge. The availability of electronic data that enhances the safe and efficient navigation of ships necessitates that shipborne systems capable of presenting this information to the user should do so in a harmonized and readily assimilated way

Accuracy of bathymetric data in electronic navigational charts

Navigational charts are essential tools for marine navigation. But how accurate are the navigational charts that we use when going sailing? Do we really know how much faith can be placed in them? All charts, whether paper or electronic, contain data, which varies in quality due to the age and accuracy of individual surveys. In general, remote areas away from shipping routes tend to be less well surveyed, and less frequently, while areas of high commercial traffic are re-surveyed frequently to very high levels of accuracy, particularly where under-keel clearances are small. It is quite accurate to consider a chart as a jigsaw of individual surveys pieced together to form a single image. Having the necessary skills to determine how much confidence should be placed in the surveys, which combine to form a chart, should be a requirement for any sailor venturing into unfamiliar waters. When the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) developed the S-57 standard for Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), this problem was recognized and it was decided that the quality of survey data used to compile ENCs had to be encoded within a composite data quality indicator ‘Category of Zone of Confidence’ (CATZOC) to assist seafarers in assessing hydrographic survey data and the associated level of risk of navigating in a particular area. According to IHO S-67, the accuracy of Electronic Navigational Charts is not impressive and leaves much to be desired. The author discusses these apparent shortcomings of ENCs and present erroneous approaches to this problem, so common in the seafaring community

ECDIS issues related to the implementation of the carriage requirements in SOLAS Convention

In the paper the author tries to present the results of monitoring the implementation of the Electronic Chart Display Information System (ECDIS) to ensure that issues identified in regard to the anomalous operation of some ECDIS are collated, analyzed, communicated and resolved as speedily as possible to maintain the safety of navigation and to assist the smooth transition from paper to digital navigation

e-Nav, is it enough?

In the paper the Author tries to present the background to e-Navigation and its definition, the key elements which in the vision for e-Navigation were covered and the IMO's strength as the co-ordinator of e-Navigation, including strategy implementation plan. The underlying important principles were stated, together with the need to take user needs into account. Recent presentations and comments showed just how ambiguous the term „users? can be in the context of e-Navigation. This led to a more in depth review of the components of the IMO Strategy Implementation Plan. The author tries to answer the question of whether these assumptions, decisions and actions taken were appropriate and sufficient. The author asks the simple question whether the mere adoption and introduction of the concept of e-Navigation in life will be enough to meet all the challenges of the twenty-first century

The concept of a Universal Maritime Data Model (UMDM) essential for e-Navigation

In the paper the Author describes the general concept of a Universal Maritime Data Model (UMDM) a common representation of all data objects and relationships occurring in the maritime domain. Implementation of IMO's e-Navigation strategy leads to a larger variety and higher volume of information and increased information exchange due to globalization. Consequently there is a need to handle information more effectively in a standardized way. The first step towards a common data structure is to define the meaning of each and every item in the data structure and the relationships among the items. This is done so that implementers of the data structure have common understanding of items. The means to do this is with a data model. At this stage, the data model, like the system architecture needs only to be described in the most general of terms. An example of how a UMDM could be implemented has been provided by the IHO with its S-100 model. In January 2010, IHO introduced a new data model known as S-100 - the Universal Hydrographic Data Model (UHDM). This international standard has been developed by the IHO over the last ten years in consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including key ECDIS and navigation equipment manufactures. The purpose of S-100 is to provide framework architecture for a contemporary standard for the exchange of hydrographic andrelated maritime data. As the UHDM is aligned with ISO 19100 it will enable the exchange of hydrographic, chart and other maritime data and information together with geospatial data from other domains. The use of ISO 19100-based data standards enables interoperability between geospatial data sets from different domains and could therefore be appropriate for many of the datasets envisaged for data exchange in e-Navigation