{mprestriction ids="1,2"}The optical bearings of objects, such as lighthouses and other landmarks, that are important for navigation are embedded on the radar grid and automatically displayed on the digital chart, enabling the radar to fix the ship’s position based on these fixed points. The features make naval vessels less dependent on satellite navigation systems like GPS, which can sometimes be distorted and less accurate.

According to RH Marine, the system can also send back data to the OBD, which makes it unique in the industry.

In order to improve the accuracy of position fixes, RH Marine has also developed R95 Ellipse to improve the accuracy of position fixes. A special algorithm calculates the most likely position of the ship with 95 per cent accuracy, based on radar, GPS or OBD bearings. The position is displayed on the map in the form of an ellipse, which “ensures that the various departments or even ships know that they' are all talking about the same target,” says portfolio manager Marcel Vermeulen, RH Marine.

To make it easier for naval vessels to enter a port using optical navigation, they can log visual bearings of known objects like lighthouses as a landmark in the navigation system.

RH Marine has also extended its Voyage Planning Station (VPS), a 55 inch touchscreen that replaced the former paper chart, with new features. In addition to pointing, planning and calculating voyages and routes, photos and videos can now be added. These can be viewed with one click on an icon on the digital sea chart. This makes places and objects more visible, especially if these data are shared with the entire fleet.

“The VPS offers a lot of added value for both the navy and yachts,” says Vermeulen. “Most new features we add are requests from end users in the operational branch. We are able to translate those requests into new technological features. That is what we do best.”{/mprestriction}