World leader in marine electronics company Raymarine has announced the creation of a system Raymarine DockSense — the first in the industry artificial assistant for mooring, able to recognize objects and movement. The first users of technology will be the boat owners of the French brand Prestige Yachts.
“Raymarine DockSense will allow future owners of Prestige to feel confident when moored. This technology is consistent with our view that the future in yachting will become increasingly simple and accessible to a much larger audience,” says Director of product marketing Prestige Eric Stromberg (Erik Stromberg).
The “eye” DockSense — FLIR system that analyzes video feeds from the cameras, as well as information about the engines and the rudder. In combination with the technology “virtual bumper” around the boat this allows the system to automatically adjust the vessel’s course and change the position of the throttle to avoid a collision and help the captain to moor.
In addition to sensors placed directly on the yacht, DockSense uses GPS and AHRS (system for determining the rate and spatial position). Thus, the system is able to take into account the strength and direction of currents and wind.
The package DockSense will include a few FLIR cameras, the Central module, the processor and the application DockSense App that can run on the navigation display Raymarine Axiom. The system will integrate with modern propulsion systems, controllable with the joystick.
In the summer of 2018 a working prototype of a similar system in the Swedish Gothenburg showed Volvo Penta. However, as free this Swarovski will only appear in the year 2020, it seems that Raymarine is going to beat the competition and come out on the market first. In addition, Volvo Penta focuses on the special sensor mounted on the dock, while the system DockSense “offline”.
