One of the things that stopped me in my tracks at the Collins Stewart London Boat Show was Furuno's latest innovation in integrated marine
electronics, NavNet 3D.
The company says the new navigation software “adds a new dimension to 3D” and for once the hype is justified. Apparently closely related to a PlayStation, the system goes “further, higher, faster” than anything I have seen before.
NavNet 3D is a completely redesigned navigation suite which can be tailored to individual needs, adding in radar (Ultra High Definition, of course), fishfinder, GPS/WAAS receiver, autopilot, AIS receiver, digital Instruments, IP cameras and almost anything else you care to mention, to show on the multi function display (MFD) at the heart of the system.
You can choose from an 8.4-inch, 12.1-inch or Black Box MFD, depending on
your vessel size and need. At the boat show press launch the system was displayed via black box on a huge flat screen TV, and it was like being at the movies.
“The future of chart plotting is here,” says the company. “Imagine a chart plotter with no redraw time. Now imagine being able to choose from preloaded raster, vector and bathymetric chartography. Now the high point, imagine a chart plotter that can display either chart format in 2D or 3D anytime, on the fly.
“NavNet 3D is able to do all of this because of its powerful graphic engine and a
new technology Furuno developed called TimeZero. TimeZero enables instant, real
and seamless chart redraw with absolutely no waiting.
“The chart can be zoomed
seamlessly and continuously in and out to whatever chart scale is desired, instead of
limiting you to the fixed range scales that you select on conventional chart plotters.
“You
can also pan and scroll around the chart in real-time. Then with a simple, short push of a single button, you are instantly
returned to your own vessel's position. A long push for same button toggles you
between a traditional 2D view to an amazing 3D view.
“Adding to the charts, Furuno is offering satellite photography that can be fused
with the raster or vector charts. They have created a new technique called Satellite
PhotoFusion that allows land areas (zero depth) to be completely opaque, so that
these areas are displayed as high-resolution satellite photos on the chart. As the depth
increases, the satellite photography becomes more transparent so that you will know
where the shallows end and the deeper water begins.”
In other words, you have a chart where it's wet, and 3-D photography where it's dry - but you also get a 3D view of the sea bed. And if you want to overlay the radar on the chart, you can do that in 3D (and full colour), too. And of course you can split the screen in any way you choose, to display any combination of information side by side (including two different radar scales and up to four remote cameras.)
But is this all just too much information? I found myself walking away from the demonstration thinking: “Remarkable, amazing, sensational - but I don't want one!”
Why not? Well, I have a feeling that it could become just as compulsive as a PlayStation. It is so mesmerizing that the temptation would be to spend the entire voyage glued to the screen, scrolling and panning and zooming in real time, marveling at the brilliance of it all - and forgetting to enjoy the fresh air and freedom that is why we all go sailing in the first place.
An awful lot of us spend the working week glued to computer screens. Do we really want to do the same when we're on our boats?
I'm certainly not knocking electronic navigation. I love my (five year old and now obsolete) chart plotter. But does it really matter that it takes a second or so to redraw the chart when you pan, scroll or change scale?
And do I really need 3D imagery to interpret the information? No. I'm extremely happy to have the almost pinpoint accuracy of GPS at my disposal. I really appreciate the reassurance that comes from seeing the boat's position on the chart in real time and the help the plotter provides in terms of passage planning.
But I don't want to be tied to it. And I appreciate the fact that its display is very closely related to the paper charts I cross refer it with. I do wonder if there isn't a danger in the way that the electronic wizardry is taking us all further and further away from familiarity with paper charts, and therefore the ability to interpret them.
It's not just keeping alive an ancient tradition - although I know there are those who think paper charts, as well as sextants, belong in antique shops. What happens when their boat batteries are exhausted by the drain of all these wonderful gizmos and they suddenly have to think for themselves?
Electronic navigation is supposed to be regarded as a back-up to paper charts, and not vice versa. But with our increasing addiction to information technology, there's surely a danger that we will be completely helpless if we ever have to do without it.
I think Furuno's NavNet 3D is completely wonderful. But also just a little bit worrying.
For more information visit www.furuno.co.uk
