GPS World, November 2018

FIGURE 4 An example of positioning using a pelorus FIGURE 5 The BinoNav configuration is looking out the window Another GLA requirement was that it should be relatively low cost to make and distribute to enable take up across all users So the idea of BinoNav was born BinoNav fulfills all these criteria easily intuitively and quickly updating the electronic position of the vessel Furthermore with its wireless connection bearings can be taken anywhere on the bridge of a vessel BINONAV FEATURES In this section I will describe the BinoNav and how it is used Easy to Use BinoNav comprises two parts the Bino unit which is a modified pair of binoculars and a base unit that performs the communication link between the Bino unit and the electronic chart Pick up the Bino unit from the base unit see FIGURE 5 for overall configuration of the BinoNav Line up the graticule inside the Bino unit with a charted feature of use press either of the buttons to automatically generate a line on the displayed electronic chart which is relative to the ships head As with a standard pelorus one needs at least another two of these EBLs to generate a cocked hat position on the electronic chart Using either the touch screen or the mouse hover over the cocked hat to generate a triangle Now right click to drop a marker at the center of the cocked hat position and delete all lines Once the vessel has moved and dictated by the operating environment at the time this process can be repeated When two or more of the markers have been dropped a line is drawn between the marks thereby showing a track on the chart Features From the use of the BinoNav unit as described above a track is produced on an electronic chart that is not derived from an EPFS This is important as it shows the integration of visual navigation into e Navigation something which e Navigation has tried to do from the very beginning as described by Brian Wadsworth in his earliest vision of e Navigation see Further Reading 46 GPS WORLD WWW GPSWORLD COM NOVEMBER 2018 Another feature of BinoNav is radar mode for charted feature recognition This feature draws a continuously moving line on the display that points at the position relative to the ships head This is useful for the recognition of charted features when in unfamiliar territory The BinoNav is very easy to install with only a connection for power and a connection for a suitable National Marine Electronics Association NMEA protocol data feed for heading Many of its electronic components are available off the shelf and are widely available commercially with bespoke printed circuit boards Some modification to the binocular unit has been necessary with the addition of a bespoke unit which links to the base unit for both orientation measurement and power when the unit is docked The binoculars are readily available for around 500 The gyros incorporated in both the base unit and the binocular unit are high grade microelectromechanical systems MEMS devices giving an angular resolution of 025 05 degrees similar to that of a standard pelorus Currently the BinoNav is 3D printed which allows for the quick production of one off units However this approach is clearly not a suitable solution for long production runs and would require a different method of production Something for the Future R RNAV has received a lot of interest in the BinoNav not only from our own mariners but also from a variety of influencers in the maritime world We have had a great deal of positive feedback on potential improvements and additional features that we